For truth to tell When I had finished school, came back to home They kept the men away, there was no man Quite good enough to call. Now here begins My fate, as you will see; their very care To make me what they wished, to have my life Grow safely, prosperously, was my undoing. I had a sister named Corinne who suffered Because of that; my father guarded me Against all strolling lovers, unknown men. But here was Henry Murray, whom they knew, And trusted too; and though they never dreamed I'd marry him, they trusted him to call. He seemed a quiet, diligent young man, Aspiring in the world. And so they thought They'd solve my loneliness and restless spirits By opening the door to him. My fate! They let him call upon me twice a month. He was in love with me before this started, That's why he tried to call. But as for me, He was a man, that's all, a being only In the world to talk to, help my loneliness. I had no love for him, no more than I Had love for father's tenant on the farm. And what I knew of marriage, what it means Was what a child knows. If you'll credit me I thought a man and woman slept together, Lay side by side, and somehow, I don't know, That children came. But then I was so vital, Rebellious, hungering for freedom, that No chance was too indifferent to put by What offered freedom from the prison home, The watchfulness of father and of mother, The rigor of my discipline. And in truth No other man came by, no prospect showed Of going on a visit, finding life Some other place. And so it came about, After I knew this man two months, one night I made a rope of sheets, down from my window Descended to his arms, eloped in short, And married Henry Murray, and found out What marriage is, believe me. Well, I think The time will come when marriage will be known Before the parties tie themselves for life. How do you know a man, or know a woman Until the flesh instructs you? Do you know A man until you see him face to face? Or know what texture is his hand until You touch his hand? Well, lastly no one knows Whether a man is mate for you before You mate with him. I hope to see the day When men and women, to try out their souls Will live together, learning A. B. C.'s Of life before they write their fates for life.