Now let no charitable hope
Confuse my mind with images
Of eagle and of antelope:
I am in nature none of these.
I was, being human, born alone;
I am, being woman, hard beset;
I live by squeezing from a stone
The little nourishment I get.
The little nourishment I get.
In masks outrageous and austere
The years go by in single file;
But none has merited my fear,
And none has quite escaped my smile.
Elinor Wylie, 1923. She lived from 1885-1928 and was an American poet and novelist.
Elinor Wylie, 1923. She lived from 1885-1928 and was an American poet and novelist.