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!
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!