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"Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps and governs the unwilling."

--William Blake, "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell", plate five

Sophia and the Heathen

The lover of the world,
Who does stand in corner of beauty
with hands that are wore and sore.
She stands frustrated--
Wearing nothing at all;
But wearing it so well--the naked truth.
A man walks on the cold
streets of time, he
sees wisdom standing.
The naked truth confronts him,
touching him with sweetness
caressing his appetite.
Wide-eyed in accepting this
Belladonna, as he is
Tied up and twisted by knowledge.
She hangs him from the rafters
Of knowledge and lust.
The Heathen's innocence dies.

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