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The Alchemist's Petition
by Vachel LindsayThou wilt not sentence to eternal life
My soul that prays that it may sleep and sleep
Like a white statue dropped into the deep,
Covered with sand, covered with chests of gold,
And slave-bones, tossed from many a pirate hold.
But for this prayer thou wilt not bind in Hell
My soul, that shook with love for Fame and Truth -
In such unquenched desires consumed his youth -
Let me turn dust, like dead leaves in the Fall,
Or wood that lights an hour your knightly hall -
Amen.