Explore "TWO" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
One leaned on velvet cushions like a queen- / To see him pass, the hero of an hour, / Whom men called great. She bowed with languid mien, / And smiled, and blushed, and knew her beauty's power.
One trailed her tinselled garments through the street, / And thrust aside the crowd, and found a place / So near, the blooded courser's prancing feet / Cast sparks of fire upon her painted face.
One took the hot-house blossoms from her breast, / And tossed them down, as he went riding by, / And blushed rose-red to see them fondly pressed / To bearded lips, while eye spoke unto eye.
One, bold and hardened with her sinful life, / Yet shrank and shivered painfully, because / His cruel glance cut keener than a knife, / The glance of him who made her what she was.
One was observed, and lifted up to fame, / Because the hero smiled upon her! while / One who was shunned and hated, found her shame / In basking in the death-light of his smile.