1 Spew out thy filth, thy flesh abjure; Let not contingents thee defile. For transients only are impure, And airy things thy soul beguile. 2 Unfelt, unseen let those things be Which to thy spirit were unknown, When to thy blessed infancy The world, thyself, thy God was shown. 3 All that is great and stable stood Before thy purer eyes at first: All that in visibles is good Or pure, or fair, or unaccurst. 4 Whatever else thou now dost see In custom, action, or desire, 'Tis but a part of misery In which all men at once conspire. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO THE SOUTH ON ITS NEW SLAVERY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR PSALM 4; AUGUST 10, 1653 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE AFFINITES: 2 by MATHILDE BLIND TWO SONS by ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN A BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 14 by THOMAS CAMPION AN ELEGY UPON THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY by JOHN CLEVELAND THE SEA BIRD TO THE WAVE by PADRAIC COLUM |