Dorothy Parker

Here you will find the Poem The Whistling Girl of poet Dorothy Parker

The Whistling Girl

Back of my back, they talk of me,
 Gabble and honk and hiss;
Let them batten, and let them be-
 Me, I can sing them this:

"Better to shiver beneath the stars,
 Head on a faithless breast,
Than peer at the night through rusted bars,
 And share an irksome rest.

"Better to see the dawn come up,
 Along of a trifling one,
Than set a steady man's cloth and cup
 And pray the day be done.

"Better be left by twenty dears
 Than lie in a loveless bed;
Better a loaf that's wet with tears
 Than cold, unsalted bread."

Back of my back, they wag their chins,
 Whinny and bleat and sigh;
But better a heart a-bloom with sins
 Than hearts gone yellow and dry!