I’m 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!

Analysis, meaning and summary of Dorothy Parker's poem Ultimatum

1 Comment

  1. Re says:

    I love this poem, you can really feel the emotions…I love how, like many of DP’s other poems, it is short but it gets the point across and is moving at the same time… -sigh-

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Dorothy Parker better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.