Part 2 — SONG AGAINST WOMEN
Reading edition
Why should I sing of women And the softness of night, When the dawn is loud with battle And the day's teeth bite, And there's a sword to lay my hand to And a man's fight?
Why should I sing of women?... There's life in the sun, And red adventure calling Where the roads run, And cheery brews at the tavern When the day's done.
I've sung of a hundred women In a hundred lands: But all their love is nothing But drifting sands. I'm sick of their tears and kisses And their pale hands.
I've sung of a hundred women And their bought lips; But out on the clean horizon I can hear the whips Of the white waves lashing the bulwarks Of great, strong ships:
And the trails that run to the westward Are shot with fire, And the winds hurl from the headland With ancient ire; And all my body itches With an old desire.
So I'll deal no more in women And the softness of night, But I'll follow the red adventure And the wind's flight; And I'll sing of the sea and of battle And of men's might.
Willard Huntington Wright [18