One, Two
Hayyim Nahman Bialik 1873 (Ivnitsa, Volhynian Governorate) – 1934 (Vienna)
One, two, three, four —
find yourself a wife — choose her!
Do not dally, don't be late
or someone else'll get there first.
I myself found me some honey
but it never came to my lips.
Two she had her, this one widow:
one brunette and one had fair hair.
Not girls-pearls,
fillies fine and gorgeous,
the joy of whoever saw their face
and I loved both of them.
But who'll foretell and who'll say
which of them I loved more.
The time went, I don't know how
I dillydallied, dillydallied.
Suddenly a demon came and scarfed them
a demon with a ponytail and handlebar mustache.
And I remained, silly bugger,
an old bachelor ever after.
And from this to all the young men
a moral to the wise and let who learns learn.
One, two, three, four —
find yourself a wife — choose her!
Do not dally, don't be late
or someone else'll get there first.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 114 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCD xxxx xxxe xaxc exbb xx ABCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 821 |
Words | 161 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 4 |
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