HIS PRAYER FOR ABSOLUTION
For those my unbaptizèd rhymes,
Writ in my wild unhallowed times;
For every sentence, clause, and word,
That's not inlaid with thee, my Lord,
Forgive me, God, and blot each line
Out of my book that is not thine.
But if, 'mongst all, thou findst here one
Worthy thy benediction;
That one of all the rest shall be
The glory of my work and me.
R. Herrick. Noble Numbers.