Donald Davie
Four Moral Discoveries
I
Oh I can praise a cloistered virtue, such
As knows it cannot fear itself too much;
That though innate corruption breaks the laws,
Woman, for instance, is the efficient cause.
The genuine prayer, when all is said and done,
Is " Lead us not into temptation."
II
Painters in sunshine, my thoughts of you
Whistle and paint my prison through;
Needy in prison our hearts forget
They bump the bars when their needs are met.
III
As Will and I went down the hill
Who should we meet, dressed up to kill,
But a sexual misdemeanour.
When Will and I got into the train,
There was the loose-limbed wench again,
An inconsiderate action.
As I left the station, I missed my pipe,
And I turned on Will. He began to weep.
It wasn't until I was nearly thirty,
I noticed the will resents being dirty.
IV
I dared occasion, and came off intact,
Unharmed, not therefore unashamed. The act
Is unimportant; and the times I fell
In fact, in thought, in wish, in all but will,
Reflects how little credit falls to me,
At fault just there, in will's obduracy.
Page(s) 14-15
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