Curly Locks by James Whitcomb Riley

Curly Locks

Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine,
But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream.

Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine?
The throb of my heart is in every line,
And the pulse of a passion as airy and glad
In its musical beat as the little Prince had!

Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine!
O I'll dapple thy hands with these kisses of mine
Till the pink of the nail of each finger shall be
As a little pet blush in full blossom for me.

But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
And thou shalt have fabric as fair as a dream,
The red of my veins, and the white of my love,
And the gold of my joy for the braiding thereof.

And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream
From a service of silver, with jewels agleam,
At thy feet will I bide, at thy beck will I rise,
And twinkle my soul in the night of thy eyes!

Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine,
But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream.
-- James Whitcomb Riley

I first heard this poem in our Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever book. In that book it was "Pussycat Pussycat" and the picture was of a pretty little cat in a purple dress sitting on a red cushion, sewing while her strawberries and cream sat on the table. Opposite, there is the husband cat surrounded by stacks of dishes, up to his elbows in soapy water. I thought it was a description of paradise, and it's still an ideal I aspire to. Occasionally I am able to do that for a little while, and it's just wonderful.

As I was looking for this poem online, I found that it was not an anonymous nursery rhyme, nor was it just four lines long. I like the structure of the poem -- with one line of the original stanza beginning each of the others. I also like reading about how much the guy adores her (and consider myself pretty darn lucky to have found somebody who loves me like that)