1. A bridle for my graying temples bent
And made submissive my defiant days,

2. I acquiesce in wearing it though I
Reluctantly abhor and rue its ways.

3. For dignity I made this compromise
That I might tie and take the thing I hate.

4. It turned my cheeks away from dimples and
Before my eyes spread out a joyless state.

5. Its whiteness now seems blackness to my eyes,
Its blackness changed to whiteness in my sight.