A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty

Ogden Nash

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Unwillingly Miranda wakes,
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror.

Miranda in Miranda's sight
Is old and gray and dirty;
Twenty-nine she was last night;
This morning she is thirty.

Shining like the morning star,
Like the twilight shining,
Haunted by a calendar,
Miranda is a-pining.

Silly girl, silver girl,
Draw the mirror toward you;
Time who makes the years to whirl
Adorned as he adored you.

Time is timelessness for you;
Calendars for the human;
What's a year, or thirty, to
Loveliness made woman?

Oh, Night will not see thirty again,
Yet soft her wing, Miranda;
Pick up your glass and tell me, then--
How old is Spring, Miranda?

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Comments1
  • Sudesh Wijesena

    Haha, I remember stumbling upon this poem when I was a kid and totally not getting it. Now I read it again and it's funny how relatable it seems. Turns out that worrying about aging isn't just a thing in today's world. But there's something comforting in the message somehow. Anyway, it sure gives a great insight for my homework.