Poems (Allen)/"My Dearling"
Y Dearling!—thus, in days long fled, In spite of creed and court and queen, King Henry wrote to Anne Boleyn,—The dearest pet name ever said, And dearly purchased, too, I ween!
"MY DEARLING."
Y Dearling!—thus, in days long fled, In spite of creed and court and queen, King Henry wrote to Anne Boleyn,—The dearest pet name ever said, And dearly purchased, too, I ween! Poor child! she played a losing game: She won a heart,—so Henry said,— But ah! the price she gave instead!Men's hearts, at best, are but a name: She paid for Henry's with her head!
You count men's hearts as something worth Not I: were I a maid unwed, I'd rather have my own fair head Than all the lovers on the earth, Than all the hearts that ever bled!
"My Dearling!" with a love most true, Having no fear of creed or queen, I breathe that name my prayers between But it shall never bring to you The hapless fate of Anne Boleyn!