I SPEAK to women--woman I;
I speak to one more heart beside;
Whatever sin may e'er betide,
But one sin damneth utterly.

If you are pledged to love a soul
By every pledge of love and law,
But all too late you find a flaw
That bids your heart annul the whole;--

If hold to him you never can,
Low as you are and all untrue,
E'en this may be forgiven you;
You sin against a son of man.

But if, or pledged or free of troth
(It matters not to savoured salt),
If passion, pride, or any fault
Plead on the side of bliss for both;--

If when your will is evil most
He strive to hold you to the right,
If then you turn from him in spite,
You sin against a holy ghost.

Be very far this sin from me,
Dear saint, whom I have loved so well;
'Twould be the very hell of hell
To fail you for your sanctity.