The Misbegotten

How hard is the fortune of all womankind,

Forever subjected, forever confined,

The parent controls us until we are wives,

The husband enslaves us the rest of our lives.

(‘The Ladies’ Case’, trad. C18th English song)

Thy heart is bound to another,

Wound tight, like a lovers’ tree;

Both may fall, but not one, or the other;

In between finds no place for me.

So let me, then, like a briar rose be -

And grow myself around both of thee.