C. J. Dennis

Name: Doreen
Author: C. J. Dennis

Doreen (1917)

Summary

“Doreen”, published in 1917, is a work by C. J. Dennis. It explores elements such as uv, bloke and sez.

Quotes from Doreen (C. J. Dennis)

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I clinched me teeth, an' clawed the bloomin' bunk;
⁠Fer a red-'ot poker jabbed me ev'ry time I much as wunk.
I couldn't corf, I couldn't move, I couldn't git me breath.
"Look after Bill," I tells Doreen. "I feels that... this is... death."
"Death, fiddlesticks," she laughs at me. "You jist turn over now." ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I 'ave wed a dinkum woman, which is fifty times as good.
I 'ave wed a dinkum woman, an' she's give me eye to see.
Oh, I ain't been mollycoddled, an' there ain't no fluff on me!
⁠But days when I wus down an' out she seemed so 'igh above;
⁠An' a saint is made fer worship, but a woman's made for love.
An' a bloke is growin' richer as sich things 'e comes to know...
(She pegs another sheet an' sez, "The stove-wood's gittin' low.")
A bloke 'e learns a lot uv things in six years wiv a tart ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I gits it in the neck!
"Am I yer wife?" she asks me straight. "Why can't yeh trust me, Bill?
Am I not fit to see to things when you are weak an' ill?"
⁠I tries to say I'm possumin', an' really well an' strong;
⁠But ev'ry time I starts to tork she's got me in the wrong.
"Yeh can't deceive me, Bill," she sez. "Yer 'ealth is fur frum good.
Yeh jist can't trust yer wife to chop a little bit uv wood!
"Yeh got to come out in the cold," she sez, "wivout yer wraps.
An' now I'll 'ave yeh on me 'ands fer days wiv a relapse!"
⁠"I been pretendin'," I ixplains. She sez, "Am I yer wife? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I put that axe away last night when all the wood wus split."
⁠"Well, that's enough about it now," she sez. I seen 'er wince,
⁠An' sez, "I put that axe away, an' 'aven't used it since;
But someone else wus usin' it this mornin', I kin swear,
⁠⁠⁠An' left it there."
"Well, never mind... Poor Bill!" she sez. "Was 'is poor thumb all 'urt?"
(Oh, it's entertainin' sometimes fer to argue wiv a skirt.)
⁠"There's someone else," I sez, an' grins, an' kids I'm doin' fine,
⁠"Wus usin' it this mornin' fer to cut a bit uv pine.
So now," I sez, "apolergise! I've beat you fair an' square! ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I'm 'shamed uv you!" I lied.
I watch 'im creep inside the 'ouse, an' 'ear 'is mother's yell.
An' then I straightens up me face 'an goes inside as well.
'Twus raw beef-steak an' vinegar, an' tears, before she's done.
An' the sort uv look she gimme sez, "Yeh see 'ow 'e's begun!"
⁠I don't disturb the rites excep' to give some kind advice.
⁠In younger days I've caught black-eyes, an' give 'em once or twice.
"That big boy should be punished," sez Doreen, "'oo 'it our Bill." ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ But I'm marri'd to a woman; an', I gives yeh my straight tip,
It makes a man feel glad uv it when sickness gits a grip.
⁠'Er looks is full uv tenderness, 'er ways is full uv love,
⁠An' 'er touch is like a blessin' as she gently bends above. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ Thinkin' she wus—I knew she wus. An' then she lets it fly:
⁠"If you 'ad cut that wood," she sez, "an I implored you to,
⁠There wouldn't be no need for me to 'ave sich things to do!,
It ain't right fer a woman..." "'Ere!" ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I've seen 'em 'ard thro' piety an' seen 'em kind thro' beer.
⁠I've seen the meanest doin' deeds to make the angels smile,
⁠An' watched the proudest playin' games that crooks 'ud reckon vile.
I 'ave studied 'em in bunches an' I've read 'em one be one,
An' there isn't much between 'em when the 'ole thing's said an' done. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ I thinks per'aps I'm dyin', an' chokes back a reel 'ot curse.
"I've worked too fast," I tells Doreen. "Me back-bone's runnin' 'ot.
I'm sick! I've got—Oo 'oly wars! I dunno wot I've got!
⁠Jist 'ere—Don't touch!—Jist round back 'ere, a blazin' little pain
⁠Is clawin' up me spinal cord an' slidin' down again."
"You come inside," she sez. "Per'aps it's stoppin' in the sun. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ Tell yeh straight; I got to like it. It's a crook thing to confess,
But to 'ave 'er fussin' round me give me chunks uv 'appiness.
⁠So I gits out in the garden wiv an arm-chair an' a rug,
⁠An' I comes the floppin' invaleed, an' makes meself reel snug.
I droops me eyes an' 'angs me 'ands, an' looks dead crook an' ill ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ She just gives me another look, an' goes in wiv the kid.
An' me? I picks them vi'lits up, not knowin' wot I did.
I 'as them fool things in me 'and when I lobs in the 'ouse,
An' makes bets wiv meself about the chances that she'll rouse. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

C. J. Dennis, Doreen (1917)

“ Ordinary Edition, 7+1⁄2 x 6 inches, 4/-.
Pocket Edition for the Trenches, 5+3⁄4 x 4+1⁄2 inches, 4/-.
By Will H. Ogilvie7th Thousand.
THE AUSTRALIAN, and Other Verses. With coloured frontispiece and title-page by Hal Gye, 7+1⁄2 x 6 inches, 4/-.
Sydney: ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD.,
Publishers to the University.
POCKET EDITIONS FOR THE TRENCHES.
Size 5+3⁄4 x 4+1⁄2 inches. Each volume with frontispiece and title-page in colour, price 4/-.
THE GLUGS OF GOSH. By C. J. Dennis. Illustrated by Hal Gye.
THE SONGS OF A SENTIMENTAL BLOKE. By C. J. Dennis. Illustrated by Hal Gye. ”

C. J. Dennis

Summary

Quotes from Doreen (C. J. Dennis)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature