My second mistress came to me today and told me I was wrong.
I had taken a quote from Mina Loy
Who said all women at puberty should become wise,
That feminine virtue is a vanity invented by men,
And compared it to satanism,
That worships the goddess,
And pleads women discover their natural selves,
For influence and pleasure.
She rebuked me gently. She said
I could no longer love her,
That of course we would remain friends,
—Stop fidgeting, make some tea—
Of course we would remain,
At last, and finally, the best of friends.
My philosophy intervened;
I rejected her offer of friendship and I wept,
And went to my other mistresses,
And even with them, cried.