A Ring Posy
Jess and Jill are pretty girls,Plump and well to do,In a cloud of windy curls:Yet I know whoLoves me more than curls or pearls.
I’m not pretty, not a bit— Thin and sallow-pale; When I trudge along the street I don’t need a veil: Yet I have one fancy hit. 10
Jess and Jill can trill and singWith a flute-like voice,Dance as light as bird on wing,Laugh for careless joys:Yet it’s I who wear the ring.
Jess and Jill will mate some day, Surely, surely: Ripen on to June through May, While the sun shines make their hay, Slacken steps demurely: 20 Yet even there I lead the way.