French Peacock
In "taking charge of your possessions when you saw
them," you became a golden jay.
Whatever you admired you charmed away —
The color, habit, ornament or attitude.
Of chiseled setting and black-opalescent dye,
You were the jewelry of sense.
[ . . . ]
Marianne Moore's poem "French Peacock" was published in the 1917 Others anthology. To read this poem in full in a digitized version of this publication, follow the links below: