The poems of Dorothy Parker are copyrighted by Dorothy Parker (and now her estate, I suppose). No copyright infringement is intended; I post these purely because I love them. 'Coda' can be found in 'Sunset Gun', 'The Poetry and Short Stories of Dorothy Parker' and 'The Collected Dorothy Parker'; if you like what you read, I strongly suggest that you buy at least one of these books.
Coda (by Dorothy Parker)
There's little in taking or giving,
There's little in water or wine;
This living, this living, this living
Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
And rest's for a clam in a shell,
So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -
Would you kindly direct me to hell?
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