three loves

There were three maidens who loved a king;
 They sat together beside the sea;

One cried, "I love him, and I would die
 If but for one day he might love me!"

The second whispered, "And I would die
 To gladden his life, or make him great."

The third one spoke not, but gazed afar
 With dreamy eyes that were sad as Fate.

The king he loved the first for a day,
 The second his life with fond love blest;

And yet the woman who never spoke
 Was the one of the three who loved him best.

 -Lucy H. Hooper