Poems (Curwen)/Yes or No

by Annie Isabel Curwen

Yes or No.

"To be, or not to be," she said,
 As she scanned the dainty billet-doux,
"Men are so fickle, and I have read
 That love is rarely if ever true;
So I'm afraid to answer 'Yes,'
 And yet how can I answer 'No!'
Was ever maid in such distress?
 I wish I'd never had a beau.

"If I say 'Yes,' my freedom's gone,
 If I say 'No,' I'll lose my lover;
And Pa says all romance is gone
 Before the honeymoon is over.
Was ever maid in such distress?
 I really do not want to marry;
I'm certain that I shan't say 'Yes,'
 But how can I say 'No' to Harry?"

But, when the trysting hour drew near,
 She quite forgot what Pa had said;
She only knew she loved him dear,
 And maids were made for men to wed;
So when he asked her to be his bride,
 She couldn't say "No," and wouldn't say "Yes,"
So she turned her blushing face aside,
 And shyly, sweetly, whispered "Guess?"