Lady, lovely lady, <br />Careless and gay! <br />Once when a beggar called <br />She gave her child away. <br /> <br />The beggar took the baby, <br />Wrapped it in a shawl, <br />'Bring her back,' the lady said, <br />'Next time you call.' <br /> <br />Hard by lived a vain man, <br />So vain and so proud, <br />He walked on stilts <br />To be seen by the crowd. <br /> <br />Up above the chimney pots, <br />Tall as a mast, <br />And all the people ran about <br />Shouting till he passed. <br /> <br />'A splendid match surely,' <br />Neighbours saw it plain, <br />'Although she is so careless, <br />Although he is so vain.' <br /> <br />But the lady played bobcherry, <br />Did not see or care, <br />As the vain man went by her <br />Aloft in the air. <br /> <br />This gentle-born couple <br />Lived and died apart. <br />Water will not mix with oil, <br />Nor vain with careless heart.<br /><br />Robert Graves<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/vain-and-careless/
