<h2><SPAN name="page12"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>LAIS WHEN OLD</h2>
<p class="poetry">Lais, when old and all her beauty gone,<br/>
Lais, the erstwhile courted pleasure queen,<br/>
Walked homeless through Corinth.<br/>
One mocked her mien—<br/>
One tossed her coins; she took them and passed on.<br/>
Down by the harbour sloped a terraced lawn,<br/>
Where fountains played; she paused to view the
scene.<br/>
A marble palace stood in bowers of green<br/>
’Twas here of old she revelled till the dawn.</p>
<p class="poetry">Through yonder portico her lovers
came—<br/>
Hero and statesman, athlete, merchant, sage;<br/>
They flung the whole world’s
treasures at her feet<br/>
To buy her favour and exalt her shame.</p>
<p style="text-align: center" class="poetry">* * * * *</p>
<p class="poetry">She spat upon her dole of coins in rage<br/>
And faded like a phantom down the street.</p>
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