Classic Poem

Dost thou deem that thyself
Art as white from sin
As a platter of delf, —
Outside and in?
When thine eyes behold
Christ's kind face lean
From His throne of gold
To test what is told
Of the life that hath been,
Like a leper of old,
Thou wilt cry, " Unclean!
Unclean! Unclean!"

And thinkest thou this —
That thou judgest aright
Thy heart as it is
In God's and man's sight?
Fool, take up thy light,
And descend the stair steep
To thy heart's dungeons deep,
And search them and sweep
Till their ghosts are unmasked;
Else, when judgment is come,
Thou wilt stand stark and dumb
At the first question asked.