Forsaking All Others Part 1 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABCDCE FGFGHIHI JIJIKLKL MNMNOIO PQPQ RSRS TUT VWV XYXYLZ LZ L A2 A2A2A2A2A2 B2B2B2B2C2 C2D2D2E2E2 A A2A2B2B2F2F2G2G2A2A2 B2B2H2H2 A2A2I2I2J2J2G2G2 I K2KL2KM2VM2V N2 I IO2 A2A2 TP2 P2AAQ2Q2R2 S2S2T2T2L2U2JJA2A2V2 V2 W2G A2A2 TP2 P2AAQ2Q2R2 S2S2T2T2L2U2JJA2A2V2 V2 W2G X2B2'NOT that you'll like him ' Nell said | A |
'No mystery no romance | B |
A fine stern eagle like head | A |
But he simply reeks of finance | B |
Started from nothing self made | C |
And rather likes you to know it | D |
And now collects porcelain and jade | C |
Or some Seventeenth Century poet | E |
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'Married in simpler days | F |
A poor little wren of a being | G |
Who exists to pray and praise | F |
And spends her life agreeing | G |
Thin and dowdy and pale | H |
And getting paler and thinner | I |
Well the point of this dreary tale | H |
Is I've asked them both to dinner | I |
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'I'd leave her out like a shot | J |
For I'm not so keen about her | I |
But my dear believe it or not | J |
He won't dine out without her | I |
She has that terrible hold | K |
That aging wives exert to | L |
Replace young charms grown old | K |
Poor health and impeccable virtue | L |
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'Lightly I asked them to dine | M |
And now I perceive the dangers | N |
My friends yours and mine | M |
Are so terribly rude to strangers | N |
But you dear girl I can trust | O |
To come and be brilliant and tender | I |
Vamp the man if you must | O |
But give an impression of splendor ' | - |
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II | - |
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LEE sat before her mirror rouged her lips | P |
Set dripping diamond earrings in her ears | Q |
Polished a little at her finger tips | P |
Thought that she did not look her thirty years | Q |
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Thought 'Poor dear Nellie's ill assorted feasts | R |
I want to be as helpful as I can | S |
Among that group of men and gods and beasts | R |
Why does she think I shall not like this man | S |
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She made him sound entrancing strong and crude | T |
Successful dominant I who for so long | U |
Have known a somewhat pitiful servitude | T |
To weakness have no terror of the strong ' | - |
Her maid held up her cloak of furry white | V |
And gave her money in a golden purse | W |
She sighed 'Not even third rate bridge to night | V |
Just third rate conversation which is worse ' | - |
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III | - |
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'NELLIE I'm sorry I'm late | X |
Edward I honestly am | Y |
Just the malignance of fate | X |
I always get caught in a jam | Y |
Whenever I'm coming to you | L |
'Mrs Wayne back of you Lee | Z |
And Mr Wayne ' | - |
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'How do you do | L |
Isn't that cocktail for me | Z |
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IV | - |
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MENU | L |
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CAVIAR cocktails soup of black bean | A2 |
Shad Moet Chandon of | - |
A saddle of mutton a stuffed aubergine | A2 |
With some creme de menthe jelly of beautiful green | A2 |
Avocados and lettuce and cold galantine | A2 |
And baba au rhum with a sauce grenadine | A2 |
Coffee and fruit and some excellent fine | A2 |
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V | - |
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SOME women hard beautiful women know a way | B2 |
Of looking up at a man so gentle and gay | B2 |
A magical child like look that seems to say | B2 |
Let us be happy together for an hour a day | B2 |
A night or forever Let us yield to the charm | C2 |
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Lee looked at Wayne and put her hand on his arm | C2 |
Under the broadcloth and linen she felt his muscles like steel | D2 |
Feeling she said to herself as a man's arm ought to feel | D2 |
And she glanced at her own hand there so slim and cool | E2 |
With its single cabochon emerald like a deep green pool | E2 |
'Shall we go first ' she asked him 'or let them all go ahead ' | - |
And so they spoke of leading and being led | A |
- | |
And then she told him a story heard she didn't know when | A2 |
Of an arctic expedition from which two men | A2 |
Had got lost and while they were off and away | B2 |
They met a dog starving like them and astray | B2 |
A clever heroic creature who in the end | F2 |
Guided them back and they loved that dog like a friend | F2 |
Loved him and worried about him all the way back | G2 |
What would he do when he met the head of the pack | G2 |
The leader of dogs the old dog cruel and stern | A2 |
Who brooked no rival How could this new dog learn | A2 |
Himself a leader and used to his own wild way | B2 |
How could he learn to be one of the pack and obey | B2 |
Would he not fight for mastery hopeless they caught their breath | H2 |
Were they not leading this friend they loved to death | H2 |
- | |
And now the crisis was on them they saw camp now | A2 |
Two men in a fragile boat and a dog standing up in the prow | A2 |
They pushed the boat as near as they could to the bank | I2 |
And someone to help them land shoved out a plank | I2 |
The new dog leaped on the plank and the old dog bristling and proud | J2 |
Made one step to meet him in front of the crowd | J2 |
And they looked at each other a moment and the old dog lay on his back | G2 |
And the new dog stepped ashore the head of the pack | G2 |
'A very interesting story Why did you tell it to me ' | - |
Asked Wayne with his black eyes on her | I |
'Why do you think ' asked Lee | - |
- | |
- | |
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VI | - |
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CANDLE light beams flickers and blazes | K2 |
On panelled pine walls fashioned of old | K |
Pale pink roses in golden vases | L2 |
Hothouse grapes in a bowl of gold | K |
Crystal goblets and plenty of them | M2 |
Flashing their points of rainbow light | V |
Tall grave men servants bending above them | M2 |
Everyone talking with all his might | V |
- | |
'Why didn't Archie go with Jessie ' | - |
'My dear she didn't want him of course ' | - |
'Aren't things getting a trifle messy ' | - |
'There's nothing messy about divorce ' | - |
'Algy's a sort of weak Othello ' | - |
'Poor creature Jessie is quite a bird ' | - |
'I hear Nan's doing her room in yellow ' | - |
'Her room I think it's her hair you heard ' | - |
- | |
'Tom never could resist a title ' | - |
'Well I'm rather a snob myself ' | - |
'The woman is large and rich and vital | N2 |
And does not mean to be laid on the shelf ' | - |
'Nonsense she's older than Tom's own mother | I |
And ought to be laid on a couple of shelves ' | - |
While Lee and Wayne just talked to each other | I |
Talked to each other about themselves | O2 |
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VII | - |
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NELLIE and Edward left alone | A2 |
Feeling their house again their own | A2 |
Stood by the fire 'It seemed to me | - |
The Great Man fell with a crash for Lee ' | - |
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'Nellie the dinner was very good ' | - |
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'Darling so glad you liked your food | T |
I'm afraid it's all the fun you had | P2 |
With Mrs Wayne ' | - |
- | |
'No not so bad | P2 |
I rather liked her The old girl said | A |
Good things she's got a tongue in her head | A |
But why the deuce need she look like that | Q2 |
She isn't old and she isn't fat | Q2 |
Wayne's probably generous certainly rich | R2 |
Why need she dress like a Salem witch ' | - |
- | |
'Oh I could talk an hour ' said Nell | S2 |
'On the psychic basis of dressing well | S2 |
It isn't a question of pocket books | T2 |
It isn't a figure it isn't looks | T2 |
It isn't going to first rate places | L2 |
Believe me the thing has a psychic basis | U2 |
It's caring caring a terrible lot | J |
Whether you're right or whether you're not | J |
It's being a slave yet now and then | A2 |
Snapping your fingers at gods and men | A2 |
It's art it's genius it's using your mind | V2 |
What does the Bible say 'that kind | V2 |
Comes not forth but by fasting and prayer ' | - |
Well that's the answer you've got to care | W2 |
And Mrs Wayne clearly has not been caring | G |
For twenty years about what she was wearing ' | - |
- | |
- | |
NELLIE and Edward left alone | A2 |
Feeling their house again their own | A2 |
Stood by the fire 'It seemed to me | - |
The Great Man fell with a crash for Lee ' | - |
- | |
'Nellie the dinner was very good ' | - |
- | |
'Darling so glad you liked your food | T |
I'm afraid it's all the fun you had | P2 |
With Mrs Wayne ' | - |
- | |
'No not so bad | P2 |
I rather liked her The old girl said | A |
Good things she's got a tongue in her head | A |
But why the deuce need she look like that | Q2 |
She isn't old and she isn't fat | Q2 |
Wayne's probably generous certainly rich | R2 |
Why need she dress like a Salem witch ' | - |
- | |
'Oh I could talk an hour ' said Nell | S2 |
'On the psychic basis of dressing well | S2 |
It isn't a question of pocket books | T2 |
It isn't a figure it isn't looks | T2 |
It isn't going to first rate places | L2 |
Believe me the thing has a psychic basis | U2 |
It's caring caring a terrible lot | J |
Whether you're right or whether you're not | J |
It's being a slave yet now and then | A2 |
Snapping your fingers at gods and men | A2 |
It's art it's genius it's using your mind | V2 |
What does the Bible say 'that kind | V2 |
Comes not forth but by fasting and prayer ' | - |
Well that's the answer you've got to care | W2 |
And Mrs Wayne clearly has not been caring | G |
For twenty years about what she was wearing ' | - |
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VII | - |
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AT first the Waynes were silent driving home | X2 |
Park Avenue tilted southwa | B2 |
Alice Duer Miller
(1)
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