The brand is on thy brow, <br />A dark and guilty spot; <br />'Tis ne'er to be erased! <br />'Tis ne'er to be forgot! <br /> <br />The brand is on thy brow! <br />Yet I must shade the spot: <br />For who will love thee now, <br />If I love thee not? <br /> <br />Thy soul is dark, — is stained; — <br />From out the bright world thrown; <br />By God and man disdained, <br />But not by me, — thy own! <br /> <br />Oh! even the tiger slain <br />Hath one who ne'er doth flee, <br />Who soothes his dying pain! <br />— That one am I to thee!<br /><br />Barry Cornwall<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-song-of-a-felon-s-wife/
