I placed my soul in the sunlight And left it there all day, Thinking that the sun with its cleansing rays Would wash the stains away. I thoughtlessly spotted my soul, And I thought no one could see, For I kept it safely hidden away So none would know but me. I thoughtlessly spotted my soul, Not knowing it at the time, But I found that just one unkind word Made a stain like the reddest wine. I thoughtlessly spotted my soul By telling a wicked lie, Never dreaming that it would leave a mark— A mark like the deepest dye. I thoughtlessly spotted my soul By thinking ill of a friend, By repeating secrets entrusted to me, To gain my own selfish end. I placed my soul in the sunlight, And left it there all day, But all the sun in the universe now Cannot wash those stains away! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MARRIAGE A-LA-MODE: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN HASTE NOT! REST NOT! by JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE MENAPHON: SEPHESTIA'S [CRADLE] SONG TO HER CHILD by ROBERT GREENE WINTERTIME by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON A PRAYER by EDNA MAY APPLEGATE PORTRAIT SONNETS: 1 by HENRY BELLAMANN THE ENTERED APPRENTICES' SONG by MATTHEW BIRKHEAD UPON MY DEAR AND LOVING HUSBAND HIS GOING INTO ENGLAND, 1661 by ANNE BRADSTREET |