Living

Riddle 78

by Carolyn Wells 1862–1942

From At the Sign of the Sphinx (Second Series)

Living

I was sitting in my study--
In my first the fire was ruddy,
And I watched it as I idly clasped my whole;
Though a sober man I ’m reckoned,
To my lips I raised my second,
For I never was addicted to the bowl.

I was waiting for my daughter,
And at last I went and sought her--
She has tresses like a golden aureole;
But she hastily retreated,
For her face was flushed and heated,
And her pretty curls were clustering round my whole.

✦ ✦ ✦

Answer: PIPESTEM

MLA

Wells, Carolyn. “Riddle 78.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wells_c/195/.

Chicago

Wells, Carolyn. “Riddle 78.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wells_c/195/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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