Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MY NEIGHBOR BUYS WHITE HYACINTHS, by LEXIE DEAN ROBERTSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MY NEIGHBOR BUYS WHITE HYACINTHS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: My neighbor drives her car at dawn
Last Line: Because of life I miss.
Subject(s): Hearts; Love - Marital; Marriage; Wedded Love; Marriage - Love; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


MY neighbor drives her car at dawn
And leaves her bed unmade,
Or reads till noon upon the lawn,
Sprawled in the coolest shade.
I never see her cook or sew,
Nor dress to make a call—
She's just as like as not to go
Wrapped in a scarlet shawl
With silver slippers on her feet
And a red rose in her hair,
Like that she'll dash out in the street
And never seem to care.

Some said her kitchen was a sight:
I went to borrow tea,
But everything was quite all right
So far as I could see.
It's true, it was not plain and gray
As most our kitchens are;
But parrots painted on a tray,
Blue asters in a jar,
And window curtains hemmed in pink,
With rag rugs on the floor,
And a mirror hung above the sink,
Are not so like to bore!

I've seen her when the clock struck one
And she had lolled all day,
Skip to a tune and get lunch done,
And make it seem like play.
She'd drag a table painted green
To stand beneath a tree,
And where the roses failed to screen
I could not help but see.
A skimpy sandwich cut in two
She'd lay on thin blue plates,
Or buttered radishes would do,
With cheese and nuts and dates.
She'd bring a crystal pitcher full
Of lemonade made red
Like the nasturtiums she'd pull
And scatter on the bread.

I never saw such witless ways,
Yet when her husband came,
That brief cold lunch got only praise
And not one word of blame.
Her husband is a steady man
And people think it strange
That he will like just any plan
Her wild mind can arrange.
They have been married fourteen years,
Yet when I see them kiss,
My foolish eyes know hot salt tears
Because of life I miss.





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