Explore "Reluctant Lady" by Maxwell Bodenheim on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
/ The widely bruised, shy beauty of a brain / That renders dogmas bashful with its breath / Will raise its last, wan offering to death -- / A poise of gossamer that takes the rain / Of darkness, with an unexpectant pride. / Your thoughts are old and yet too young for life / Whose ponderous sneer preserves their curling strife. / They wait for heavy spear-points, side by side.
/ You are a wilted pilgrim on a road / Where hills and rubbish-pits receive alike / The skeptical remonstrance of your pace. / You pass through towns and raise your thoughtful load / To shield your loves against the words that strike / The sheer, elastic trouble of your face.