Seeking Dorothy Parker poem

June 9, 2010 4:55 PM

Seeking poem by Dorothy Parker. I've looked for decades and figure I am probably paraphrasing it, Google has failed me. details to follow

Don't remember the title.

You're short and selfish, and inhumane.
You don't know how to treat a woman.
something, something, something.........
.............................................................

And since I know, past any doubt,
Your love for me has flickered out.
I can recite the many flaws
That make you as you are
Because, in doing so I may convince
Myself that I am lucky, since
The joy of abusing you
Offsets the pain of
Losing you.

posted by misspat to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Do you remember where you read or saw it?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:59 PM on June 9, 2010

Sounds more like Elizabeth Bishop then Dorothy Parker/
posted by bricoleur at 6:25 PM on June 9, 2010

Where did that / come from?
posted by bricoleur at 6:26 PM on June 9, 2010

or the 'then'...
posted by bricoleur at 6:27 PM on June 9, 2010

Scanning my Portable Dorothy Parker and don't see it.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 6:28 PM on June 9, 2010

Well, if you're pretty sure it's Dorothy Parker, you can scan through her poems here (if you click on the first poem, you can go through the rest by clicking 'next poem' from that page...). Otherwise, there's a book of the complete poems of Dorothy Parker, maybe you can grab it at your library...it's hard to tell if the online lists are complete or not.
posted by lemonade at 6:51 PM on June 9, 2010

PDF version of lemonade's link here (might be easier to search).
posted by YamwotIam at 7:03 PM on June 9, 2010

To me it sounds like Parker in tone and subject but not the cadence. I'm really curious, now.
posted by dorothyrose at 2:02 PM on June 10, 2010

Hope someone figures it out -- I'm very much wanting to read the whole thing!
posted by MeiraV at 8:25 AM on June 12, 2010