THE FOOLISH WOMAN
from the Bible: Proverbs 9:13-18
(King James Version)
A foolish woman is clamorous:
she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
For she sitteth at the door of her house,
on a seat in the high places of the city,
to call passengers
who go right on their ways:
"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither":
and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
"Stolen waters are sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
But he knoweth not that the dead are there;
and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
"HE KNOWETH NOT THAT THE DEAD ARE THINE"
by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861-1907)
The weapon that you fought with was a word,
And with that word you stabbed me to the heart.
Not once but twice you did it, for the sword
Made no blood start.
They have not tried you for your life. You go
Strong in such innocence as men will boast.
They have not buried me. They do not know
Life from its ghost.
