O Bitter Sprig! Confession Sprig!

 O BITTER sprig! Confession sprig! 
In the bouquet I give you place also—I bind you in, 
Proceeding no further till, humbled publicly, 
I give fair warning, once for all. 

I own that I have been sly, thievish, mean, a prevaricator, greedy, derelict,
And I own that I remain so yet. 

What foul thought but I think it—or have in me the stuff out of which it is thought? 
What in darkness in bed at night, alone or with a companion?

Form: Free verse Comments

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace