Then number fourteen says:

"My friends have all told you the reason why they

Keep on in a lonesome, old-maidenly way,

Without any husband to lighten their loads,

Without any helper to smooth the rough roads;

I, too, am unmarried, but not for the causes

That they have all stated in rhythmical clauses:

My lover didn't die,

And he never went away;

My father didn't stand