Lapsus Calami (Aug 1891)/In the Backs
II. MEN AND WOMEN.
1. In the Backs.
As I was strolling lonely in the Backs,I met a woman whom I did not like.I did not like the way the woman walked:Loose-hipped, big-boned, disjointed, angular.If her anatomy comprised a waist,I did not notice it: she had a faceWith eyes and lips adjusted thereunto,But round her mouth no pleasing shadows stirred,Nor did her eyes invite a second glance.Her dress was absolutely colourless,Devoid of taste or shape or character;Her boots were rather old, and rather large,And rather shabby, not precisely matched.Her hair was very far from beautifulAnd not abundant: she had such a hatAs neither merits nor expects remark.She was not clever, I am very sure, Nor witty nor amusing: well-informedShe may have been, and kind, perhaps, of heart;But gossip was writ plain upon her face.And so she stalked her dull unthinking way;Or, if she thought of anything, it wasThat such a one had got a second class,Or Mrs So-and-So a second child.I do not want to see that girl again:I did not like her: and I should not mindIf she were done away with, killed, or ploughed.She did not seem to serve a useful end:And certainly she was not beautiful.