A Valediction
Since his sharp sight has taught you
To think your own thoughts and to see
What cramped horizons my arms brought you,
Turn then and go free,
Unlimited, your own
Forever. Let your vision be
In your own interests; you’ve outgrown
All need for tyranny.
May his clear views save you
From those shrewd, undermining powers
That hold you close just to enslave you
In some love such as ours.
May this new love leave you
Your own being; may your bright rebirth
Prove treacherous, change then and deceive you
Never on this earth.
Now that you’ve seen how mindless
Our long ties were, I pray you never
Find, all your life through, such a blindness
As we two shared together.
My dark design’s exposed
Since his tongue opened up your eyelids;
May no one ever lip them closed
So cunningly as I did.
- W.D. Snodgrass
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