Stevie Smith

It’s you I’m with,

and canst accept your saying canst,

indeed, almost anything you say—

your silly love of dogs and cats

more than people, your way

of coming closer Death each day

and liking it, as an old maid might

who refused banality,

embracing her fate and stewing in it—

a delightful dish of what was tough,

the chance and craft of her own flavor.