Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WHAT OUR LORD WROTE IN THE DUST, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WHAT OUR LORD WROTE IN THE DUST, by                    
First Line: We have saved the soul of the man who killed
Last Line: What our lord wrote in the dust
Subject(s): Jesus Christ


We have saved the soul of the man who killed,
We have turned to shrive the thief;
We restored the pride of the man who lied
And we gave him our belief;
But for her who fell we have fashioned hell
With a faith all stern and just—
It was so of old; and no man hath told
What our Lord wrote in the dust.

We have sighed betimes for our brothers' crimes
And have bade them be of cheer,
For the flesh is weak, and the soul grown meek
May yet read its title clear.
But we draw away from the one astray
As the truly righteous must,
She is cursed indeed—and we did not read
What our Lord wrote in the dust.

For the men who thieved, and who killed and lied—
Who have slain the woman's soul—
We have worked and prayed, and have seen them made
All clean and pure and whole,
But we drive her out with a righteous shout
In our Pharisaic trust,
So the man goes free—but we do not see
What our Lord wrote in the dust.





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