How She Resolved to ActI shall be careful to say nothing at all About myself or what I know of him Or the vaguest thought I have - no matter how dim, Tonight if it so happen that he call." And not ten minutes later the door-bell rang, And into the hall he stepped as he always did, With a face and a bearing that quite poorly hid His brain that burned and his heart that fairly sang, And his tongue that wanted to be rid of the truth. As well as she could, for she was very loath To signify how she felt, she kept very still, But soon her heart cracked loud as a coffee mill, And her brain swung like a comet in the dark, And her tongue raced Eke a squirrel in the park. No Envy, John CarterSome night, John Carter, you will dream of hands, Hands that are dead now, or as good as dead, That you killed, or as good as made them die Along the road that you have prospered by; And I will never envy you the dread With which you must awake then, as you see Hands stretched towards you, striving, piteously Stretched, beseeching, grasping at what was taken, Hands by pain and grievance sorely shaken And pointed at you while your agents keep The power you've gained in this and other lands - Some night, Mr. Carter, you will dream. But it will not be an untroubled dream, And, oh, I shall not envy you your sleep. The Book of HowAfter the stars were all hung separately out For mortal eyes to see that care to look, The one who did it sat down and wrote a book On how he did it. It took him about As long to write the book as to do the deed, But he said, "It's things like this we mostly need." And the angels approved but the devils screamed with laughter, For they knew exactly what would follow after. For somehow he managed entirely to omit The most important facts in accomplishing it: Where he got the ladder to reach the stars; And how he lighted them, especially Mars; And what he hung them on when he got them there, Eternally distant and luminous in the air. AnswerHere are three ways to get your answer to me: One, loose your pigeons, for they know my roof. Tie the message to their legs with a tiny band And they will bring, but will not understand The words that one who holds herself aloof Has written on rice paper with black ink; That is the quickest way to do, I think, Others I know but none as instantly. Or tie a ribbon to the white swan's neck, Red for yes or very blue for no, They pass by here for water. If they go Three days unribboned I'll know that you walk In your rose garden waiting for the fall To tell me by blowing dead leaves over my wall |