Marjorie Allen Seiffert. The Old Woman. Harriet Monroe, ed. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912-22

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Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22.

The Old Woman

By Marjorie Allen Seiffert


Doctor:	A Morality Play in Two Parts I THERE is an old woman
	Who ought to die—

Deacon:	And nobody knows
	But what she’s dead—

Doctor:	The air will be cleaner	5
	When she’s gone—

Deacon:	But we dare not bury her
	Till she’s dead—

Landlady:	Come, young doctor
	From the first floor front,	10
	Come, dusty deacon
	From the fourth floor back—
	You take her heels
	And I’ll take her head—

Doctor and Deacon:	We’ll carry her	15
Doctor and Deacon:	And bury her—
	If she’s dead!

House:	They roll her up
	In her old red quilt,
	They carry her down	20
	At a horizontal tilt.
	She doesn’t say, “Yes!”
	And she doesn’t say, “No!”
	She doesn’t say, “Gentlemen,
	Where do we go?”	25

Doctor:	Out in the lot
	Where the ash-cans die,
	There, old woman,
	There shall you lie!

Deacon:	Let’s hurry away,	30
	And never look behind
	To see if her eyes
	Are dead and blind,
	To see if the quilt
	Lies over her face.	35
	Perhaps she’ll groan,
	Or move in her place!

House:	The room is empty
	Where the old woman lay,
	And I no longer	40
	Smell like a tomb—

Landlady:	Doctor, deacon,
	Can you say
	Who’ll pay the rent
	For the old woman’s room?	45

House:	II The room is empty
	Down the hall;
	There are mice in the closet,
	Ghosts in the wall.
	A pretty little lady	50
	Comes to see—

Woman:	Oh, what a dark room!
	Not for me!

Landlady:	The room is large
	And the rent is low;	55
	There’s a deacon above,
	And a doctor below—

Deacon:	When the little mice squeak
	I will pray—

Doctor:	I’ll psycho-analyze	60
	The ghosts away—

Landlady:	The bed is large
	And the mattress deep;
	Wrapped in a featherbed
	You shall sleep—	65

Woman:	But here’s the door
	Without a key—
	An unlocked room
	Won’t do for me!

Doctor:	Here’s a bolt—	70

Deacon:	And here’s a bar—

Landlady:	You’ll sleep safely
	Where you are!

Woman:	Good-night, gentlemen,
	It’s growing late.	75
	Good-night, landlady,
	Pray don’t wait!
	I’m going to bed—
	I’ll bolt the door
	And sleep more soundly	80
	Than ever before!

Deacon:	Good-night, madam,
	I’ll steal away—

Doctor:	Glad a pretty lady
	Has come to stay!	85

House:	She lights a candle—
	What do I see?
	That cloak looks like
	A quilt to me!
	She climbs into bed	90
	Where long she’s lain;
	She’s come back home—
	She won’t leave again.
	She’s found once more
	Her rightful place—	95
	Same old lady
	With a pretty new face.
	Let the deacon pray
	And the doctor talk—
	The mice will squeak	100
	And the ghosts will walk.
	There’s a crafty smile
	On the landlady’s face—
	The old woman’s gone
	And she’s filled her place!	105

Landlady:	It’s nothing to me
	If the old woman’s dead—
	I’ve somebody sleeping
	In every bed!

CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

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