Enough Rope

Poems

Dorothy Parker

• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781504069236
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Women in Poetry
• Index: Literature

This classic collection of light verse from the beloved American satirist and poet contains some of her most famous, caustically funny rhymes.

A founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, Dorothy Parker helped define the literary voice of her generation. Her urbane sense of irony left no platitude un-skewered, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

First published in 1926, Enough Rope is a collection of short, humorous poems that are quintessential Parker: elegantly sardonic, disarmingly deadpan, and unforgettably funny.

part one

Threnody

Lilacs blossom just as sweet

Now my heart is shattered.

If I bowled it down the street,

Who’s to say it mattered?

If there’s one that rode away

What would I be missing?

Lips that taste of tears, they say,

Are the best for kissing.

Eyes that watch the morning star

Seem a little brighter;

Arms held out to darkness are

Usually whiter.

Shall I bar the strolling guest.

Bind my br...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Publisher's Note
• PART ONE
• Threnody
• The Small Hours
• The False Friends
• The Trifler
• A Very Short Song
• A Well-Worn Story
• Convalescent
• The Dark Girl’s Rhyme
• Epitaph
• Light of Love
• Wail
• The Satin Dress
• Somebody’s Song
• Anecdote
• Braggart
• Epitaph for a Darling Lady
• To a Much Too Unfortunate Lady
• Paths
• Hearthside
• The New Love
• Rainy Night
• For a Sad Lady
• Recurrence
• Story of Mrs. W—
• The Dramatists
• August
• The White Lady
• I Know I Have Been Happiest
• Testament
• “I Shall Come Back”
• Condolence
• The Immortals
• A Portrait
• PART TWO
• Portrait of the Artist
• Chant for Dark Hours
• Unfortunate Coincidence
• Verse Reporting Late Arrival at a Conclusion
• Inventory
• Now at Liberty
• Comment
• Plea
• Pattern
• De Profundis
• They Part
• Ballade of a Great Weariness
• Résumé
• Renunciation
• Day-Dreams
• The Veteran
• Prophetic Soul
• Verse for a Certain Dog
• Folk Tune
• Godspeed
• Song of Perfect Propriety
• Social Note
• One Perfect Rose
• Ballade at Thirty-five
• The Thin Edge
• Spring Song
• Love Song
• Indian Summer
• Philosophy
• For an Unknown Lady
• The Leal
• Finis
• Words of Comfort to be Scratched on a Mirror
• Men
• News Item
• Song of One of the Girls
• Lullaby
• Faut de Mieux
• Roundel
• A Certain Lady
• Observation
• Symptom Recital
• Fighting Words
• Rondeau Redoublé
• Autobiography
• The Choice
• Ballade of Big Plans
• General Review of the Sex Situation
• Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom
• Pictures in the Smoke
• Biographies
• Nocturne
• Interview
• Songs in a Minor Key
• Experience
• Neither Bloody Nor Bowed
• The Burned Child
• Copyright Page