A Purpose of Amendment
He who mangold-patch doth hoe,
Sweating beneath a sturdy sun,
Clearing each weed-disguised row
Till day-light and the task be done,
Standeth to view his labour’s scene—
Where now, within the hedge-row’s girth,
The little plants untrammeled green
Stripes the brown fabric of the earth.
So when the absolution’s said
Behind the grille, and I may go,
And all the flowers of sin are dead,
And all the stems of sin laid low,
And I am come to Mary’s shrine
To lay my hopes within her hand—
Ah, in how fair and green a line
The seedling resolutions stand.