Thomas Hardy

The Coquette, and After

  (Triolets)

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!