 | [Poems by Moody in] William Vaughn Moody : A Study by David Dodds Henry |  |
IV
The nuns rose up and left the room:
The abbess sat in the purple gloom.
The abbess sat in the purple gloom.
The minstrel let the lute-notes fail,
Then turned in question of the tale.
Then turned in question of the tale.
‘How shameful that no purest life
Is free from fleshly sin and strife!
Is free from fleshly sin and strife!
‘If punishment were yours to tell
What had you meted the maid Angelle?’
What had you meted the maid Angelle?’
The abbess let her stern gaze fall
On the wan white Christ in the shadowed wall.
On the wan white Christ in the shadowed wall.
‘If I had sought some way to win
To show my hate of her deadly sin
To show my hate of her deadly sin
‘I had gone bare-head and with naked feet
And held her hand through the crowded street.’
And held her hand through the crowded street.’
| [Poems by Moody in] William Vaughn Moody : A Study by David Dodds Henry | |