Classic Poem

Have you ever robbed a lioness of just one tiny whelp?
Have you ever felt the power of her claws?
Well, think of these, oh Pyrrhus, and before you cry for help,
Remember what a woman is—and pause.

The unfair sex, the one that is “more deadly than the male,”
Will never leave unturned a single stone,
She'll fight, she'll bite, she'll scorn the rules; she'll make a strong man pale …
So you'd better let Nearchus quite alone.

And meanwhile this Nearchus, the sweet and blushing prize,
Conducts himself as umpire of the fray;
He shakes his scented locks; he smirks and rolls his pretty eyes—
A tired semi-demi-god at play.

Oh let her have her perfumed youth—as she is sure to do,
Although she break a Senate-full of laws;
Admit defeat. Retreat from them—the virgin or the shrew.
Remember what a woman is—and pause.