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The Rope
by C. H. Sisson
The Rope - C. H. Sisson
The Rope
Now money is the first of things
And after that the human heart
Which beats the time it can afford.
What springs
Of passion, what a smart
Appearance, Lord!
And are these spiritual things?
They are. And we that are without
Have failed to use the currency
Correctly. For we have allowed
A doubt
About the things we see
To sing aloud
And put our calculations out.
If the external is the hope
We have here, as I think it is,
We should respect it till we die.
The slope
Is steep, the precipice
Is near. And I
Now know that money is the rope.
from Collected Poems (Carcanet , 1998). Recording from C H Sisson; Selected Poems (Canto, 1987, 2001), used by permission of Carcanet Press.