Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO A CITY COUSIN ABOUT TO BE MARRIED, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE Poet's Biography First Line: Is it true, what they tell me, my beautiful cousin Last Line: "and husbands exclaiming, ""I envy the man!" Subject(s): Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives | ||||||||
Is it true, what they tell me, my beautiful cousin, You are going to be married? -- have settled the day? That the cards are all printed? -- the wedding-dress chosen? -- And everything fixed for an evening in May? Ah -- well! -- just imagine, -- had I been a Turk, And you -- but, no matter, -- 't is idle to whine; In the purest of bosoms some envy may lurk, And I feel a little (I own it!) in mine! 'T is over! -- the struggle was but for a minute; And now let me give you, dear cousin, I pray, A word of advice, -- if there's anything in it, Accept it; if not, you can throw it away. An excellent maxim is "crede experto"; Which means (since your Latin I venture to doubt) For practical wisdom 't is best to refer to A teacher who knows what he's talking about. C'est moi! I've been married this many a year; And know rather more than a bachelor can, And more -- I suppose it is equally clear -- Than a very young wife or a new-married man. Of course there'll be matters to worry and vex, But woman is mighty, and Patience endures; And ours -- recollect -- is the (much) "softer sex," Though we (not very gallantly) say it of yours! The strong should be merciful! Woman we find, Though weaker in body, surpassing us still In virtue; and strong -- very strong in her mind, (When she knows what it is!) -- not to mention her will. Be gentle! How hard you will find it to bear When your husband is wrong; and as difficult, quite, In the other contingency, -- not at all rare, -- When you're forced, in your heart, to confess he was right! Be careful of trifles: a maxim of weight In questions affecting the heart or the head; In wedlock, consider how often the fate Of the gravest affairs may depend on a thread. On a button perhaps! Ah! the "conjugal tie" Should never be strained to its ultimate test; Full many a matron has found, with a sigh, That the fixture was barely a button, at best! A truce to our jesting. While friends by the dozen Their kind gratulations are fain to employ; None more than your poet -- your mirth-loving cousin -- Puts his heart in the words while he's "wishing you joy." Quite through to its close may your conjugal life Maintain the impressions with which it began; The women still saying, "I envy the wife," And husbands exclaiming, "I envy the man!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BLESSING FOR A WEDDING by JANE HIRSHFIELD A SUITE FOR MARRIAGE by DAVID IGNATOW ADVICE TO HER SON ON MARRIAGE by MARY BARBER THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD KISSING AGAIN by DORIANNE LAUX A TIME PAST by DENISE LEVERTOV DEATH AND CUPID; AN ALLEGORY by JOHN GODFREY SAXE |
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