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And One for My Dame Lyrics by Anne Sexton

Selected Poems of Anne Sexton

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A born salesman,
my father made all his dough
by selling wool to Fieldcrest, Woolrich and
Faribo.
A born talker,
he could sell one hundred wet-down bales
of that white stuff. He could clock the miles
and the sales
and make it pay.
At home each sentence he would utter
had first pleased the buyer who'd paid him
off in butter.
Each word
had been tried over and over, at any rate,
on the man who was sold by the man who
filled my plate.
My father hoverеd
over the Yorkshire pudding and thе beef:
a peddler, a hawker, a merchant and an
Indian chief.
Roosevelt! Willkie! and war!
How suddenly gauche I was
with my old-maid heart and my funny
teenage applause.
Each night at home
my father was in love with maps
while the radio fought its battles with Nazis
and Japs.
Except when he hid
in his bedroom on a three-day drunk,
he typed out complex itineraries, packed his
trunk,
his matched luggage
and pocketed a confirmed reservation,
his heart already pushing over the red routes
of the nation.
I sit at my desk
each night with no place to go,
opening thee wrinkled maps of Milwaukee
and Buffalo,
the whole U.S.,
its cemeteries, its arbitrary time zones,
through routes like small veins, capitals like
small stones.
He died on the road,
his heart pushed from neck to back,
his white hanky signaling from the window
of the Cadillac.
My husband,
as blue-eyed as a picture book, sells wool:
boxes of card waste, laps and rovings he can
pull
to the thread
and say Leicester, Rambouillet, Merino,
a half-blood, it's greasy and thick, yellow as
old snow.
And when you drive off, my darling,
Yes, sir! Yes, sir! It's one for my dame,
your sample cases branded with my father's
name,
your itinerary open,
its tolls ticking and greedy,
its highways built up like new loves, raw
and speedy.
Credits
Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton

About “And One for My Dame” by Anne Sexton

Read the complete lyrics to "And One for My Dame" by Anne Sexton from the album "Selected Poems of Anne Sexton". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music.

"And One for My Dame" is performed by Anne Sexton. from the album "Selected Poems of Anne Sexton" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "And One for My Dame", explore more songs by Anne Sexton using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"And One for My Dame" is credited to Anne Sexton. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"And One for My Dame" appears on "Selected Poems of Anne Sexton".

Visit the Anne Sexton artist page at /artist/anne-sexton for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.