Mad Judy

By Thomas Hardy

6/2/1840-1/11/1928


When the hamlet hailed a birth
         Judy used to cry:
When she heard our christening mirth
         She would kneel and sigh.
She was crazed, we knew, and we
Humoured her infirmity.

When the daughters and the sons
         Gathered them to wed,
And we like-intending ones
         Danced till dawn was red,
She would rock and mutter, "More
Comers to this stony shore!"

When old Headsman Death laid hands
         On a babe or twain,
She would feast, and by her brands
         Sing her songs again.
What she liked we let her do,
Judy was insane, we knew.

DayPoems Poem No. 1062
<a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1062.html">Mad Judy by Thomas Hardy</a>

The DayPoems Poetry Collection, www.daypoems.net
Timothy Bovee, editor

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