Thursday, May 17, 2007

PT: Another Kind of Remourse ;D




Last week I said my own regrets. This week I'll tell you Edna St. Vincent Millay's: hers is way better!


The Penitent

I had a little Sorrow,
Born of a little Sin,
I found a room all damp with gloom
And shut us all within;
And, "Little Sorrow, weep." said I,
"And Little Sin, pray God to die,
And I upon the floor will lie
And think how bad I've been!"

Alas for pious planning--
It mattered not a whit!
As far as gloom went in that room,
The lamp might have been lit!
My little Sorrow would not weep,
My little Sin would go to sleep--
To save my soul I could not keep
My graceless mind on it!

So up I got in anger,
And took a book I had,
And put a ribbon in my hair
To please a passing lad,
And, "One thing there's no getting by--
I've been a wicked girl," said I;
"But if I can't be sorry, why,
I might as well be glad!"



"Poet. Playwright. Actress. Lover. Pulitzer Winner. Breadwinner. Jazz Age Heroine. Sexual Revolutionary. Wife. Daughter. Drinker. Pacifist. Activist. Celebrated. Villified. Beloved. Notorious. Remembered. Forgotten? Not if she has anything to say about it!" (From the THEATERMANIA show at Collective:Unconscious, First Fig Productions "Edna St, Vincent Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immortality.")

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I have no regrets for stopping by! Happy belated birthday!

Anonymous said...

Cool poem. :)

Rose

xo

Pam said...

Ilove her poem and her attitude!

Regina said...

She is great, isn't she?! Thanks for posting this poem!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

nienke, I am really glad you stopped by! Now, I think I will go and fix a cottage cheese and lettuce sandwich...um, with avocado. That would be good! Like you, I too lost 40 lbs 10 years ago, and it has all returned, plus some. :( And, I once sang in a show because the real singer fainted away and the director pointed a finger in my direction and said, "Sing!" But that doesn't mean it was any good, and I still wince to think about it! :)

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Rose, thanks. And pam, an attitude like that will take you far!

rcj, yes, she is great. I memorized this one a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

We're the same, you and I.
Those in the blogosphere just haven't figured it out...

January said...

Great poem. She was a fiesty lady.

And I really enjoyed your column on Poetry Thursday this week.

paris parfait said...

I had forgotten about this poem. Thanks for the reminder! And a belated Happy Birthday! Hope you have a fantastic year ahead. xo

Catherine said...

It sounds as if I need to find out more about Edna. She must have been a fascinating woman. Hope you had a happy birthday!

gautami tripathy said...

Thanks for posting this. I like it.

Kay Cooke said...

Every poem of EVM's I've read, I've liked.
This is another one - Thanks.