free-verse24 lines
The Woman Answers.
by Charles Hamilton MusgroveWhat will I say when face to face with God
My naked soul shall come, seared with the stain
That men call sin? Why, God will understand;
He knew my pitiful story long before
My frail dust quickened with the breath of life;
He knew the mystery of that day of days
When, thrilled with virgin wonder, I should come
Bearing the lily of my stainless love
To plant upon the desert of desire.
I do not fear His judgment; He knows all.
I do not fear His judgment lest it be
That I shall look no more upon his face
Who taught my heart to love; and, surely, One
Who wrought a perfect note from these poor strings
Will not condemn to discord when the strain
Has reached the fullness of its harmony.
I do not fear His judgment, but I weep
For him who slew the lily with a kiss
Too full of passion's rapture; if I speak
In that transcendent moment when I stand
A sinful woman at the bar of God
To hear my sentence, I shall answer still:
"I loved him; that was all that I could do;
I love him; that is all that I can say!"