Lyric Poem · Love

The Look

by Sara Teasdale · 1915

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

And never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,

Robin's lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin's eyes

Haunts me night and day.

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“The Look” by Sara Teasdale — quilloak.com/poems/the-look

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.

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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.

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Lyric Poem Short Poems Love Funny Short

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