Ultimatum by Dorothy Parker - #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge2021 - Poetry: The Best Words In the Best Order

 ULTIMATUM

DOROTHY PARKER

                                    I am wearied of wearying love, my friend,

Of worry, and strain, and doubt;

Before we begin, let us view the end,

And maybe I'll do without.

There's never the pang that was worth the tear,

And toss in the night I won't - 

So either you do or you don't, my dear,

Either you do or you don't.

The table is ready, so lay your cards

And if they should augur pain,

I'll tender you ever my kind regards

And run for the fastest train.

I haven't the will to be spent and sad;

My heart's to be gay and true -

Then either you don't or you do, my lad,

Either you don't or you do!

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The Poet: Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967)

American writer, Dorothy Parker, is best known for her biting wit and scintillating sense of humour. Her pieces often mocked the foibles of modern society. Some of her poems were set to music much after her time. Her short stories were often acerbic, but they were also known to be bitter-sweet. 'Big Blonde', her most popular short story won the O Henry Award for the best story in 1929. 

She had friends in the literary world like Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald, and her own writing was influenced by luminaries like Charles Dickens and Thackeray. She bequeathed her estate to Martin Luther King Jr. and the plaque on her tombstone read "Excuse my dust", signifying that her sense of humour remained intact till the end.

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'Ultimatum' is an example of her satiric attitude towards life and love. She talks of being weary of love to her lover, explaining that no pang is worth sleepless nights. She asks him to lay his cards on the table, and if she has the slightest doubt that this love will lead to pain, she will offer him her kind regards and take the fastest train away from him. She prefers to have be happy and carefree. 

The repetition of the lines, "Either you do or you don't" ends with an endearment both times, but there is an inherent threat, albeit conveyed in a laughing manner. The meaning is clear. Either he keeps her happy or she lets him go.

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                                                      Another Night of Reading - Word Press

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