Is this a fast, -- to keep The larder lean, And clean From fat of veals and sheep? Is it to quit the dish Of flesh, yet still To fill The platter high with fish? Is it to fast an hour, Or ragg'd to go, Or show A downcast look, and sour? No! 't is a fast to dole Thy sheaf of wheat, And meat, Unto the hungry soul. It is to fast from strife, From old debate And hate, -- To circumcise thy life. To show a heart grief-rent; To starve thy sin, Not bin, -- And that's to keep thy Lent. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THEY ACCUSE ME OF NOT TALKING by HAYDEN CARRUTH BEARING LEAVES AGAIN by DAVID IGNATOW TO THE MARTYRED by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE REWARD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON COUNTRYWOMEN by KATHERINE MANSFIELD THE CHANT OF THE VULTURES by EDWIN MARKHAM |