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Lyric Poem · Love

The Look

by Sara Teasdale · 1915

1Strephon kissed me in the spring,

2Robin in the fall,

3But Colin only looked at me

4And never kissed at all.

5Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,

6Robin's lost in play,

7But the kiss in Colin's eyes

8Haunts me night and day.

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
The Look
Poet
Sara Teasdale
Published
1915
Length
8 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes
Love, Funny, Short

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
8 lines · 2 quatrains
Line length
Lines run 5-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
Sara Teasdale1884–1933
Source record
WikisourceThe Look by sara-teasdale, Wikisource transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
1915
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 ec83b0c1a0938cae
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policyReport a text or rights issue

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