Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE COQUETTE, AND AFTER; TRIOLETS, by THOMAS HARDY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE COQUETTE, AND AFTER; TRIOLETS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: For long the cruel wish I knew
Last Line: The woman - women always do!
Subject(s): Women


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!





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