If I have sinned in act, I may repent; <br />If I have erred in thought, I may disclaim <br />My silent error, and yet feel no shame ; <br />But if my sou], big with an ill intent, <br />Guilty in will, by fate be innocent, <br />Or being bad, yet murmurs at the curse <br />And incapacity of being worse, <br />That makes my hungry passion still keep Lent <br />In keen expectance of a Carnival; <br />Where, in all worlds, that round the sun revolve <br />And shed their influence on this passive ball, <br />Abides a power that can my soul absolve? <br />Could any sin survive and be forgiven, <br />One sinful wish would make a hell of heaven!<br /><br />Hartley Coleridge<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sonnet-72/
