Read "King and Siren" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
The harsh king, Winter, sat upon the hills, / And reigned, and ruled the earth right royally. / He locked the rivers, lakes, and all the rills. / "I am no puny, maudlin king," quoth he, / "But a stern monarch, born to rule and reign, / And I will show my power to the end; / The summer's flowery retinue I've slain, / And taken the bold, free North-Wind for my friend.
"Spring, Summer, Autumn -- feeble queens they were, / With their vast troops of flowers, birds, and bees, / And winds, that made the long, green grasses stir -- / They lost their own identity in these. / I scorn them all! nay, I defy them all! / And none can wrest the sceptre from my hand. / The trusty North-Wind answers to my call, / And breathes his icy breath upon the land."