DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE

        Oh Carolyn,
        Do not try my patience
        Of which there is little.
        Do not lie to me
        Because you think
        You do not deserve
        Happiness.
        The king does not wait
        Upon the pleasure of the handmaids
        In the palace.
        It is they that wait
        Upon his pleasure.

        Speak as an adult, I pray you.
        Let your word be "yea",
        Or even "nay".
        Be hot or cold
        But be not lukewarm.
        For then I cannot swallow you
        But must by all means
        Spit you out!
        For the king cannot abide
        The mind
        Of a child
        Within the body of a woman.