The Unpardonable Sin

 I do not cry, beloved, neither curse. 
Silence and strength, these two at least are good. 
He gave me sun and start and aught He could, 
But not a woman's love; for that is hers. 

He sealed her heart from sage and questioner -- 
Yea, with seven seals, as he has sealed the grave. 
And if she give it to a drunken slave, 
The Day of Judgment shall not challenge her. 

Only this much: if one, deserving well, 
Touching your thin young hands and making suit, 
Feel not himself a crawling thing, a brute, 
Buried and bricked in a forgotten hell; 

Prophet and poet be he over sod, 
Prince among angels in the highest place, 
God help me, I will smite him on the face, 
Before the glory of the face of God.

Form: Iambic Pentameter Comments

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