HE stole from my bodice a rose, My cheek was its color the while; But, ah, the sly rogue! he well knows, Had he asked it, I must have said no. He snatched from my lips a soft kiss; I tried at a frown -- 't was a smile; For, ah, the sly rogue! he knows this: Had he asked it, I must have said no. That "asking" in love's a mistake, It puts one in mind to refuse; 'T is best not to ask, but to take; For it saves one the need to say no. Yet, stay -- this is folly I've said; Some things should be asked if desired; My rogue hopes my promise to wed; When he asks me, I will not say no. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 28 by JAMES JOYCE JOURNEY TO A KNOWN PLACE by HAYDEN CARRUTH NOBODY'S LOOKIN' BUT DE OWL AND DE MOON (A NEGRO SERENADE) by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON BACCALAUREATE by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH |