"The Pedler" a poem by Charlotte Mew

A poem from the public domain

Intro

Welp, I didn’t share any poems from the public domain last week. I meant to share some poems by sapphic poets because it was Lesbian Visibility Week, but things came up, and time flew by. I did share a couple original works I am proud of, though:

1. A new single from my mixtape memoir series called “They Will Keep on Speaking Her Name, Volume 4: A Labyrinthine Life”
2. An original poem called “1948 Chevrolet”

To make it up to my sapphic darlings, I’m starting this week with a poem by lesbian poet Charlotte Mew. Unfortunately, she saw her sexual orientation as a curse thanks to societal, religious, and family pressures. The Gay & Lesbian Review wrote about her life-ending struggle with her sexuality here.

I’m not trying to make you sad (even though those of you who’ve read my original poems might disagree), but I want to underscore how important it is that we embrace who we are and that we bravely live out loud. Don’t let the sexual insecurities of Christian nationalists force you back into the closet.

The poem is below, followed by my video reading (I read this one outside at the park with a different mic, so the audio isn’t perfect).

💜Miranda📚

The Pedler

LEND me, a little while, the key
    That locks your heavy heart, and I’ll give you back—
Rarer than books and ribbons and beads bright to see,
    This little Key of Dreams out of my pack.

The road, the road, beyond men’s bolted doors,
    There shall I walk and you go free of me,
For yours lies North across the moors,
    And mine lies South. To what seas?

How if we stopped and let our solemn selves go by,
    While my gay ghost caught and kissed yours, as ghosts don’t do,
And by the wayside, this forgotten you and I
    Sat, and were twenty-two?

Give me the key that locks your tired eyes,
    And I will lend you this one from my pack,
Brighter than colored beads and painted books that make men wise:
    Take it. No, give it back!

My Reading