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Would that I were a turnip white,
Or raven black,
Or miserable hack
Dragging a cab from left to right ;
Or would I were the showman of a sight,
Or weary donkey with a laden back,
Or racer in a sack,
Or freezing traveller on an Alpine height ;
Or would I were straw-catching as I drown
(A wretched landsman I who cannot swim),
Or watching a lone vessel sink,
Rather than writing: I would change my pink
Gauze for a hideous yellow satin gown
With deep-cut scolloped edges and a rim.