Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Doctor Asked Her

The doctor asked her what she wanted done
With him, that could not lie there many days.
And she was shocked to see how life goes on
Even after death, in irritating ways;
And mused how if he had not died at all
’Twould have been easier--then there need not be
The stiff disorder of a funeral
Everywhere, and the hideous industry,
And crowds of people calling her by name
And questioning her, she’d never seen before,
But only watching by his bed once more
And sitting silent if a knocking came . . .
She said at length, feeling the doctor’s eyes,
“I don’t know what you do exactly when a person
   dies.”

1. There Was upon the Sill
2. Gazing upon Him Now
3. She Had a Horror
4. So She Came Back
5. The Last White Sawdust

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