Unfortunate Coincidence -- Dorothy Parker

(Poem #1090) Unfortunate Coincidence By the time you swear you're his, Shivering and sighing, And he vows his passion is Infinite, undying - Lady, make a note of this: One of you is lying. -- Dorothy Parker

What I like about today's poem is not just the drippingly ironic cynicism,
but the wonderful brevity with which Parker conveys it. The first four lines
call to mind every cliched, overly sentimental scene from countless
'romantic' novels and movies, and the matter-of-fact tone of the conclusion
serves not just to sum up Parker's opinions of the sentiment, but the amount of
effort she feels it needs to refute it. Definitely one of her more quotable
pieces.

martin