Poem by Dorothy Parker

Guinevere at Her Fireside

A nobler king had never breath-
 I say it now, and said it then.
Who weds with such is wed till death
 And wedded stays in Heaven. Amen.

(And oh, the shirts of linen-lawn,
 And all the armor, tagged and tied,
And church on Sundays, dusk and dawn.
 And bed a thing to kneel beside!)

The bravest one stood tall above
 The rest, and watched me as a light.
I heard and heard them talk of love;
 I'd naught to do but think, at night.

The bravest man has littlest brains;
 That chalky fool from Astolat
With all her dying and her pains!-
 Thank God, I helped him over that.

I found him not unfair to see-
 I like a man with peppered hair!
And thus it came about. Ah, me,
 Tristram was busied otherwhere….

A nobler king had never breath-
 I say it now, and said it then.
Who weds with such is wed till death
 And wedded stays in Heaven. Amen.

1. Portrait of the Artist
2. Chant for Dark Hours
3. The Immortals
4. Unfortunate Coincidence
5. Inventory

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