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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


J IS FOR JEALOUSY by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES

Poet Analysis

First Line: I PRAISED THE DAISIES ON MY LAWN
Last Line: THAT SHE AND I ARE LIVING IN.
Subject(s): JEALOUSY;

I praised the daisies on my lawn,
And then my lady mowed them down.
My garden stones, improved by moss,
She moved -- and that was Beauty's loss.
When I adored the sunlight, she
Kept a bright fire indoors for me.
She saw I loved the birds, and that
Made her one day bring home a cat.
She plucks my flowers to deck each room,
And make me follow where they bloom.
Because my friends were kind and many,
She said -- 'What need has Love of any?'
What is my gain, and what my loss?
Fire without sun, stones bare of moss,
Daisies beheaded, one by one;
The birds cat-hunted, friends all gone --
These are my losses: yet, I swear,
A love less jealous in its care
Would not be worth the changing skin
That she and I are living in.



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