UNBIND thine eyes, with thine own soul confer, <br />Look on the sins that made thy life unclean, <br />Behold how poor thy vaunted virtues were, <br />How weak thy faith, thy deeds how small and mean, <br />How far from thy high dreams thy life hath been, <br />How poor thy use of all thou hast received, <br />How little of all God's glory thou hast seen, <br />How misconstrued that which thou hast perceived. <br /> <br /> <br />Turn not thine eyes away from thine unworth, <br />The cup of shame drink to the bitter lees; <br />And when thou art lowered to the least on earth, <br />And in the dust makest common cause with these, <br />Then shall kind arms enfold thee, bringing peace, <br />The Earth, thy Mother, shall assuage thy pain, <br />Her woods and fields, Her quiet streams and seas <br />Shall touch thy soul, and make thee whole again. <br /> <br /> <br />But if thy heart holds fast one secret sin, <br />If one vile script thy soul shrinks to erase, <br />The mighty Mother cannot bring thee in <br />Unto the happy, holy, healing place; <br />But thou shalt weep in darkness, out of grace, <br />And miss the light of beauty undefiled; <br />For he who would behold Her, face to face, <br />Must be in spirit as a little child.<br /><br />Edith Nesbit<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/absolution-ii/
