George Eliot's Maggie Tulliver Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

George Eliot's Maggie Tulliver (To be followed as a painting, a self-portrait of me stitching)
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Maggie Tulliver had hair that refused to curl prettily
But was dark as the raven's body
She had flashing black eyes
Which sparkled when she sat on her father's knee;

Her cousin, Lucy Glegg, who had golden curls
She smacked one day because her curls were prettier than
Her own artificial ones made out of a curling iron
But her strict mother made her repent her sin;

She was smarter than her brother, Tom,
Many a time for her mind had a turn for schooling
She felt sorry for unfortunate Philip
Who was her brother's school friend at the tiny school their teacher ran
For Philip had a crooked leg
Much to her brother's dismay
Who was a strong fellow;

Her father tragically died
And the mill on the floss went to ruins
And woe befell the Tulliver family
She grew up to be a beautiful young lady
Who fancied herself to be in love with Philip
Until her brother whom she doted on
Put some sense into her head;

Her cousin, Lucy's fiancé fell in love with her at first sight
And compromised her virtue
But Maggie stood steadfast to her principles and
Refused to let Lucy down and marry him
And thus she became the talk of the town;

Mary Ann Cross alias Geroge Eliot traces Maggie's misfortunes
And ends with Tom rescuing his younger sister from the surging waters
And their lives end prematurely
In the flood waters that envelop the village.