The Penitent
The Penitent
Original Text
Edna St. Vincent Millay, A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets (New York and London: Harper, 1922): 17-18. PS 3525 I495F4 Robarts Library.
1I had a little Sorrow,
2 Born of a little Sin,
3I found a room all damp with gloom
4 And shut us all within;
5And, "Little Sorrow, weep," said I,
6"And, Little Sin, pray God to die,
7And I upon the floor will lie
8 And think how bad I've been!"
9Alas for pious planning --
10 It mattered not a whit!
11As far as gloom went in that room,
12 The lamp might have been lit!
13My Little Sorrow would not weep,
14My Little Sin would go to sleep --
15To save my soul I could not keep
16 My graceless mind on it!
17So up I got in anger,
18 And took a book I had,
19And put a ribbon on my hair
20 To please a passing lad.
21And, "One thing there's no getting by --
22I've been a wicked girl," said I;
23"But if I can't be sorry, why,
24 I might as well be glad!"
Publication Start Year
1918
Publication Notes
Published in Poetry
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1998.
Rhyme