Ambiguous Poem.
Curious are poems with double readings. This specimen is cited by a contemporary. Read it as it stands, and woman is highly flattered ; but read alternate lines (1 and 3, 2 and 4 of each verse), and the sentiment is very much the reverse :—: — Happy a man may pass his life If he's directed by a wife ; If free from matrimonial chains He's sure to suffer for his pains. No tongue is able to unfold The virtues in woman you behold ; The falsehoods that in women dwell Are almost imperceptible. In woman's heart you'll see appear Truth, darling of a heart sincere ; Hyprocrisy, deceit, and pride, In woman never can abide. Destruction take the men, I say, Who no regard to woman pay ; Who make the women their delight, Keep always reason in their sight.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZFL19030711.2.21
Bibliographic details
Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 158, 11 July 1903, Page 16
Word Count
137Ambiguous Poem. Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 158, 11 July 1903, Page 16
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