Fleetwood Habergham’s Lament

She may not have existed

Or may not have written this,

The one song linked to her name,

Seeds of Love, also known as

The Unfortunate Damsel,

Said to have resulted from

Her unfortunate marriage

To a profligate husband

Who squandered a small estate

And wandered off, reprobate,

Ca. 1700.

The verse suggests a folk song,

With a typical moral—

The singer had rejected

Some fine but common flowers—

The lily, the violet—

That a gardener offered

And, despite having been warned

By the gardener, held out

For a fine red rose in June

That pricked her heart with its thorn.

A venomous thorn indeed. . .

Away you fading flowers. . .

I loved one flower too much.

This seems like the sort of thing

That could float around a while

Until it became attached

To a particular tale.

Even contemporary

Poets giving their readings

Entertain by explaining

The back-story to each poem,

Which is what the audience

Appears to enjoy the most

About the experience.

Mrs. Fleetwood Habergham,

If she were to read, would need

These days to satisfy this

Craving for intimacy,

Insider information,

How her husband went to hell

And how she then saved herself.

A song’s not really a song

Unless listeners believe

It blossomed from hot spilt tea.