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“That was not what I meant at all.” T. S. Eliot

I believe Mr. Prufrock intended
To make a proposal today.
But I murmured so coolly and smiled so unduly,
The words on his lips died away.

For he'd be an impossible husband,
Although he's a gentleman, true.
He has money in stocks and an opera box
And a house with a riverfront view.

But, my dear, have you seen him in flannels?
He has knobby stick legs like a calf.
And to see his bald head in the lamplight turn red –
It was all I could do not to laugh.

So I told him he'd misunderstood things,
And sent him to walk by the sea.
In the moonlight he might see a mermaid tonight
To divert his attention from me