The Poppet Doll (Part Two of Three)*

PART II

 

(The Chastisement of Flesh)

 

And so, I was compelled to live

Within my naked form �"

 

And I was like a helpless lamb

That bleats beneath a storm

 

 I shivered in an icy gloom

And shuddered in my sleep,

 

For I had wandered

From the good

 

Into the dark

And deep![1]

 

I took no peace

In daylight’s hymn,

No comfort I could take,

 

As I was fettered by my fear [2]

And tethered to its stake

I did not know

What keys I held -

 

 I only saw the lock,[3]

 

And in my dullness

 

Wept alone

 

Or to the shadows talked!

 

These days did end

Upon a rack beneath

 

An olive tree,

 

When I discovered that my flesh

Was but a curse, not me[4]

 

I saw it burning in a flame -

A flame that made it seem,

 

As if I suffered all for naught,

For flesh was but a dream