“That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can’t say No in any of them.”
— Alexander Woollcott on Dorothy Parker
(The Algonquin Hotel, Oak Bar, 1920)

Pour me a gin that’s educated in sin.
—How earnest. I prefer mine taught to ply.
I drink what makes a decent woman grin.
—I drink what leaves the decent woman dry.
Then let’s proceed. I favor discipline.
—Only if learned. You must go slow.
I never rush. I like my damage driven in.
—Good. I collect what lingers after “no.”
And when it burns, do you deny the fire?
—I file it, darling. Names are tools.
I name what breaks me just to watch it tire.
—Then order well. The glass remembers fools.
“God’s Promise?” Or “The Devil’s Repast.” A spark
flared up when she leaned in: I never experiment in the dark.