90105: 'Whereas most women . . .'

Whereas most women live this difficult life
Merely in order not to die the death
And take experience as they take their breath,
Accepting backyards, travail, crusts, all naïf;
And nothing greatly love, and nothing loathe---
Others there are who seemingly forget
That men build walls to shelter from the wet,
For sustenance take meals, for comfort clothe.
These must embellish every act with grace;
These eat for savours; dress to show their lace;
Suppose the earth for gardens; hands for nard.
Now which you hold as higher than the other
Depends, in fine, on whether you regard
The poetess as nobler than the Mother.

CPF vol. 1, p. 81 (#68): Probably written in 1915, this sonnet exists only in a transcript from a MS since lost. Transcript, p. 222
OEF/ELG