Dora Williams
Dora Williams
Original Text
Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology,
illustrated by Oliver Herford (London: T. Werner Laurie,
[1916]): 71. 8-NBI Masters New York Public Library
3Whose father just deceased left him a fortune.
4He married me when drunk. My life was wretched.
5A year passed and one day they found him dead.
6That made me rich. I moved on to Chicago.
7After a time met Tyler Rountree, villain.
8I moved on to New York. A gray-haired magnate
9Went mad about me -- so another fortune.
10He died one night right in my arms, you know.
11(I saw his purple face for years thereafter.)
12There was almost a scandal. I moved on,
13This time to Paris. I was now a woman,
14Insidious, subtle, versed in the world and rich.
16Became a center for all sorts of people,
17Musicians, poets, dandies, artists, nobles,
18Where we spoke French and German, Italian, English.
19I wed Count Navigato, native of Genoa.
20We went to Rome. He poisoned me, I think.
22The sea where young Columbus dreamed new worlds,
23See what they chiseled: "Contessa Navigato
Notes
1] Reuben Pantier: another of Masters' Spoon River characters. Back to Line
2] lush: alcoholic. Back to Line
15] Champs Élysées: a well-known boulevard in Paris. Back to Line
21] Campo Santo: a cemetery on the south side of St. Peter's in Rome. Back to Line
24] "... begs for eternal peace" (Italian). Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1915
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2003
Rhyme