Strong sun, that bleach
The curtains of my room, can you not render
Colourless this dress I wear?—
This violent plaid
Of purple angers and red shames; the yellow stripe
Of thin but valid treacheries; the flashy green of kind deeds done
Through indolence high judgments given here in haste;
The recurring checker of the serious breach of taste?
No more uncoloured than unmade,
I fear, can be this garment that I may not doff;
Confession does not strip it off,
To send me homeward eased and bare;
All through the formal, unoffending evening, under the clean
Bright hair,
Lining the subtle gown. . .it is not seen,
But it is there.
(Edna St. Vincent Millay)
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Based on Topics: Sense & Perception Poems, Fear Poems, Hair Poems, Haste Poems, Confession PoemsBased on Keywords: doff, stripe, unmade, colourless, checker, judgments, valid, flashy, unoffending, treacheries, uncoloured