The Newer Vainglory (Alice Meynell) @ ELCore.Net

The Newer Vainglory

Two men went up to pray; and one gave thanks,
Not with himself—aloud,
With proclamation, calling on the ranks
Of an attentive crowd.

“Thank God, I clap not my own humble breast,
But other ruffians’ backs,
Imputing crime—such is my tolerant haste—
To any man that lacks.

“For I am tolerant, generous, keep no rules,
And the age honours me.
Thank God, I am not as these rigid fools,
Even as this Pharisee.”

http://poetry.elcore.net/CatholicPoets/Meynell/Meynell066.html
Created April 9, 2001; not revised.