Recite the dangers chiselled on this face:
How I was clipped by scorn and maimed by lies
How conscience hedged my soul; law chilled my eyes;
Ropes cut my grace.
Recite therewith the flame of victories:
How out of blood and dust I gathered mirth
And was content to find in flesh and earth
Strange ecstasies.
But most recite what made me captive here
Weighted with stone, wrapped in a sluggard’s peace,
And ask of men if this is God’s release
Or only his fear.
(Donald Grady Davidson)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Soul Poems, War & Peace Poems, Faces Poems, Fear Poems, Success Poems, Law & Regulation Poems, Danger & Risk PoemsBased on Keywords: chiselled, hedged, sluggard