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“Oh, That ‘Twere Possible!”

1874 –

1942

With apologies to Lord Tennyson.

(“The grant of suffrage to women is repugnant to instincts that strike their roots deep in the order of nature. It runs counter to human reason, it flouts the teachings of experience and the admonitions of common sense.”—N.Y. Times, Feb. 7, 1915.)

Oh, that ‘twere possible

After those words inane

For me to read The Times

Ever again!

When I was wont to read it

   In the early morning hours,

In a mood ‘twixt wrath and mirth,

   I exclaimed: “Alas, Ye Powers,

These ideas are fainter, quainter

   Than anything on earth!”

A paper’s laid before me.

   Not thou, not like to thee.

Dear me, if it were possible

   The Times should ever see

How very far the times have moved

   (Spelt with a little “t”).

This poem is in the public domain.

Alice Duer Miller was born on July 28, 1874, in Staten Island, New York. Her work was influential to women’s suffrage, and her satirical poetry collection, Are Women People? (1915), became a slogan for the movement. She died August 22, 1942, in New York City.

About Alice Duer Miller

Occasion

Women's History Month

Themes

Public Domain

Social Justice

Suffrage

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More by this poet

Do You Know

    That in 1869 Miss Jex-Blake and four other women entered for a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh?

    That the president of the College of Physicians refused to give the women the prizes they had won?

    That the undergraduates insulted any professor who allowed women to compete for prizes?

Alice Duer Miller

1915

Why We Oppose Women Travelling in Railway Trains

1. Because travelling in trains is not a natural right.

2. Because our great-grandmothers never asked to travel in trains.

3. Because woman’s place is the home, not the rain.

4. Because it is unnecessary; there is no point reached by a train that cannot be reached on foot.

5. Because it will double the work of conductors, engineers and brakemen who are already overburdened.

Alice Duer Miller

1915

Why We Oppose Pockets for Women

1. Because pockets are not a natural right.

2. Because the great majority of women do not want pockets. If they did they would have them.

3. Because whenever women have had pockets they have not used them.

4. Because women are required to carry enough things as it is, without the additional burden of pockets.

Alice Duer Miller

1915

Poems

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“Oh, That ‘Twere Possible!”

More by this poet

Do You Know

Why We Oppose Women Travelling in Railway Trains

Why We Oppose Pockets for Women

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