“Wouldn’t You Like to Know?”

A Madrigal

I KNOW a girl with teeth of pearl,
  And shoulders white as snow;
    She lives,—ah! well,
    I must not tell,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her sunny hair is wondrous fair,
And wavy in its flow;
Who made it less
One little tress,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her eyes are blue (celestial hue!)
And dazzling in their glow;
On whom they beam
With melting gleam,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her lips are red and finely wed,
Like roses ere they blow;
What lover sips
Those dewy lips,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her fingers are like lilies fair,
When lilies fairest grow;
Whose hand they press
With fond caress,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

Her foot is small, and has a fall
Like snowflakes on the snow;
And where it goes
Beneath the rose,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

She has a name, the sweetest name
That language can bestow.
’Twould break the spell
If I should tell,—
Wouldn’t you like to know?

John G. Saxe.