Pin

<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN> <h2>A Pin</h2><br> <p>by Ella Wheeler Wilcox</p> <p>Oh, I know a certain lady who is reckoned with the good, <br /> Yet she fills me with more terror than a raging lion would.<br /> The little chills run up and down my spine whene’er we meet, <br /> Though she seems a gentle creature, and she’s very trim and neat.<br /><br /> And she has a thousand virtues and not one acknowledged sin, <br /> But she is the sort of person you could liken to a pin.<br /> And she pricks you and she sticks you in a way that can’t be said.<br /> If you seek for what has hurt you – why, you cannot find the head.<br /><br /> But she fills you with discomfort and exasperating pain.<br /> If anybody asks you why, you really can’t explain! <br /> A pin is such a tiny thing, of that there is no doubt, <br /> Yet when it’s sticking in your flesh you’re wretched till it’s out.<br /><br /> She’s wonderfully observing – when she meets a pretty girl, <br /> She is always sure to tell her if her hair is out of curl; <br /> And she is so sympathetic to her friend who’s much admires, <br /> She is often heard remarking, ‘Dear, you look so worn and tired.’<br /><br /> And she is an honest critic, for on yesterday she eyed<br /> The new dress I was airing with a woman’s natural pride, <br /> And she said, ‘Oh, how becoming! ’ and then gently added, ‘it<br /> Is really a misfortune that the basque is such a fit.’<br /><br /> Then she said, ‘If you heard me yester eve, I’m sure, my friend, <br /> You would say I was a champion who knows how to defend.’<br /> And she left me with the feeling – most unpleasant, I aver –<br /> That the whole world would despise me is it hadn’t been for her.<br /><br /> Whenever I encounter her, in such a nameless way<br /> She gives me the impression I am at my worst that day.<br /> And the hat that was imported (and cost me half a sonnet) , <br /> With just one glance from her round eyes becomes a Bowery bonnet.<br /><br /> She is always bright and smiling, sharp and pointed for a thrust; <br /> Use does not seem to blunt her point, nor does she gather rust.<br /> Oh! I wish some hapless specimen of mankind would begin<br /> To tidy up the world for me, by picking up this pin! <br /></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />