Living

Maid, Wife, and Widow

by Thomas Middleton 1580–1627

From Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Elizabethan Age, ed. A. H. Bullen (London: Nimmo, 1889)

Living

In a maiden-time professed,
Then we say that life is blessed;
Tasting once the married life,
Then we only praise the wife;
There's but one state more to try,
Which makes women laugh or cry —
Widow, widow: of these three
The middle's best, and that give me.

MLA

Middleton, Thomas. “Maid, Wife, and Widow.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/middleton/7/.

Chicago

Middleton, Thomas. “Maid, Wife, and Widow.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/middleton/7/.

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