The Two Spirits

The Two Spirits written by William Henry Davies

From "The Bird of Paradise", 1914

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My friend, mad drunk, struck at his foe,
When 1 received the cruel blow;
No sooner saw my broken tooth,
He wept, and wiped my bloody mouth.

Then came a message from his wife -
'Come now, and see his last of life.'
But when I reached his room and bed,
The man was lying cold and dead.

Now when I stood beside his bier,
I felt two spirits standing near;
The one said - 'Look: his knuckles show
The toothmark where he struck a blow.'

'Think not of that,' the other said -
'Have pity on him cold and dead.'
'You took no vengeance for that blow,'
The first one said - 'it's too late now!'

Shame on my soul for vengeance nursed,
That, laughing in my heart, I cursed
The hand, now dead, that broke my tooth -
Although it wiped my bloody mouth.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.

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