A Pearl Necklace Poem by Radclyffe Hall

Go, cold white pearls, with your luring eyes,
The woman is waiting who longs to win
But the rainbow light that within you lies,
But the soft cool touch of your satin skin.
You are undefiled, and the price of sin
Has passed you by, what the heart denies
Can your whiteness, fettered and bound within
This necklet's space, ever realise ?
You were snatched away from the deep, sad sea,
From the Mother's womb to the miser's pile;
You are bartered now for a phantasy,
For the hopeless hope in a woman's smile.