To A Lady With Child That Ask'd An Old Shirt.
Richard Lovelace 1618 – 1657
And why an honour'd ragged shirt, that shows,
Like tatter'd ensigns, all its bodie's blows?
Should it be swathed in a vest so dire,
It were enough to set the child on fire;
Dishevell'd queen[s] should strip them of their hair,
And in it mantle the new rising heir:
Nor do I know ought worth to wrap it in,
Except my parchment upper-coat of skin;
And then expect no end of its chast tears,
That first was rowl'd in down, now furs of bears.
But since to ladies 't hath a custome been
Linnen to send, that travail and lye in;
To the nine sempstresses, my former friends,
I su'd; but they had nought but shreds and ends.
At last, the jolli'st of the three times three
Rent th' apron from her smock, and gave it me;
'Twas soft and gentle, subt'ly spun, no doubt;
Pardon my boldnese, madam; HERE'S THE CLOUT.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 128 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAXXBBCCDD CCEEFFGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 795 |
Words | 154 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 8 |
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"To A Lady With Child That Ask'd An Old Shirt." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30245/to-a-lady-with-child-that-ask'd-an-old-shirt.>.
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