“WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW?”

36

A MADRIGAL.

I KNOW a girl with teeth of pearl,

And shoulders white as snow;

She lives,—ah! well,

I must not tell,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her sunny hair is wondrous fair,

And wavy in its flow;

Who made it less

One little tress,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

37Her eyes are blue (celestial hue!)

And dazzling in their glow;

On whom they beam

With melting gleam,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her lips are red and finely wed,

Like roses ere they blow;

What lover sips

Those dewy lips,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her fingers are like lilies fair,

When lilies fairest grow;

Whose hand they press

With fond caress,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her foot is small, and has a fall

Like snowflakes on the snow;

And where it goes

Beneath the rose,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

She has a name, the sweetest name

That language can bestow.

’Twould break the spell

If I should tell,—

Wouldn’t you like to know?

John G. Saxe.

38