I
For long the cruel wish I knew
That your free heart should ache for me
While mine should bear no ache for you;
For, long - the cruel wish! - I knew
How men can feel, and craved to view
My triumph - fated not to be
For long! . . . The cruel wish I knew
That your free heart should ache for me!
II
At last one pays the penalty -
The woman - women always do.
My farce, I found, was tragedy
At last! - One pays the penalty
With interest when one, fancy-free,
Learns love, learns shame . . . Of sinners two
At last ONE pays the penalty -
The woman - women always do!