Yes! You have broken a heart;
Take it and throw it away,
Do with it then as you may--
Yours will not suffer the smart.
Perhaps you have done it before--
Trifled with one for awhile,
Thrown it aside for a smile,
Stretching your hands out for more.
Hearts are not found every day,
Counterfeits flourish indeed;
This in its passion can bleed;
Genuine! so toss it away.
But that was an honest man's heart,
Worthy some good woman's love,
Not to be worn like a glove,
Petted, and riven apart.
Deem you he counted the cost--
He, who was wholly a man?
Make up to her if you can--
The woman who doubly has lost.
Think of eyes tearful and dim,
Searching the mesh of your toils;
Think of the lives this sport spoils,
And the woman who's waiting for him!
First published in The Queenslander, 12 February 1898
