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Mrs. Purkapile

Topics: classic

He ran away and was gone for a year.         When he came home he told me the silly story         Of being kidnapped by pirates on Lake Michigan         And kept in chains so he could not write me.         I pretended to believe it, though I knew very well         What he was doing, and that he met         The milliner, Mrs. Williams, now and then         When she went to the city to buy goods, as she said.         But a promise is a promise         And marriage is marriage,         And out of respect for my own character         I refused to be drawn into a divorce         By the scheme of a husband who had merely grown tired         Of his marital vow and duty.

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"He ran away and was gone for a year...."

"Mrs. Purkapile" is a quintessential example of Edgar Lee Masters's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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