Lear's Daughters

Three Daughters Of King Lear by Gustav Pope

There were three sisters once upon a time:

   One sister was as brutal as a fact,

One sister spoke of law and dreamed of crime,

   And one had all the heart the others lacked.

There were three girls who served an angry fool:

   One kept the peace, one tried to be endearing,

One gave advice that hid her ridicule,

   And all three learned the trick of disappearing.

There were three daughters of a lonely queen:

   One was the softness that she had to hide,

One was the need that made her feel unclean,

   And one the hate that burned her up inside.

      Three princesses: one hard, one soft, one shrew;

      One warm, one cool, one sly—and all untrue.

 

Copyright 2014 Matthew J Wells