An Exception

Ellis Parker Butler

In all romances, old and new,
  And in all lover’s rhymes
I find one rule that has held true
  Since prehistoric times.

The lover must, if he indeed
  Be hit by Cupid’s dart,
Grow pale, sigh much, neglect his food,
  And wholly lose his heart.

Now fain would I abide this rule
  But I, forsooth, grow red
And hot, and stammer like a fool,
  And only lose my head.

Next 10 Poems

• Ellis Parker Butler : An Old-fashioned Garden
• Ellis Parker Butler : Anticipation
• Ellis Parker Butler : At Variance
• Ellis Parker Butler : Bird Nesting
• Ellis Parker Butler : Circumstantial Evidence
• Ellis Parker Butler : Cupid Caught Napping
• Ellis Parker Butler : Golden Silence
• Ellis Parker Butler : Good-better-best
• Ellis Parker Butler : How'd You Like It?
• Ellis Parker Butler : Immortality

Previous 10 Poems

• Ellis Parker Butler : A Study In Feeling
• Ellis Parker Butler : A St. Valentine's Day Tragedy
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Scotchman Whose Name Was Isbister
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Satisfactory Reform
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Question
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Pastoral
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Parisian Episode
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Minute
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Lost Angel
• Ellis Parker Butler : A Culinary Puzzle