LAY the corpse out on the altar; bid the elect Slaves clear the ways of service spiritual, Sweep clean the stalled soul's serviceable stall, Ere the chief priest's dismantling hands detect The ulcerous flesh of faith all scaled and specked Beneath the bandages that hid it all, And with sharp edgetools oecumenical The leprous carcases of creeds dissect. As on the night ere Brutus grew divine The sick-souled augurs found their ox or swine Heartless; so now too by their after art In the same Rome, at an uncleaner shrine, Limb from rank limb, and putrid part from part, They carve the corpse -- a beast without a heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: GEORGE JOSLIN ON LA MENKEN by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE GIANT PUFFBALL by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN A DIRGE by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI JOHN MAYNARD by HORATIO ALGER JR. EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 15. RATHER DEEDS THAN WORDS by PHILIP AYRES |