The Queen of Hearts illustration by Florence Harrison“The Queen of Hearts”–Christina RossettiH
The Queen of Hearts illustration by Florence Harrison“The Queen of Hearts”–Christina RossettiHow comes it, Flora, that, whenever wePlay cards together, you invariably,However the pack parts,Still hold the Queen of Hearts?I’ve scanned you with a scrutinizing gaze,Resolved to fathom these your secret ways:But, sift them as I will,Your ways are secret still.I cut and shuffle; shuffle, cut, again;But all my cutting, shuffling, proves in vain: Vain hope, vain forethought too;The Queen still falls to you.I dropped her once, prepense; but, ere the dealWas dealt, your instinct seemed her loss to feel:‘There should be one card more,’You said, and searched the floor.I cheated once; I made a private notchIn Heart-Queen’s back, and kept a lynx-eyed watch;Yet such another backDeceived me in the pack: The Queen of Clubs assumed by arts unknownAn imitative dint that seemed my own;This notch, not of my doing,Misled me to my ruin.It baffles me to puzzle out the clue,Which must be skill, or craft, or luck in you:Unless, indeed, it beNatural affinity. -- source link
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