Harm Not Done

Hold sin lightly in noncommital,

a feeling as easy as being yourself,

thirsty by water.

Carry no weight of explanation—

accident, error, effect of drug,

the natural thing to do at the time.

Use it instead as a buoying resource

to float you in hours of long boredom,

let it lead you on, what you might yet do.

Get it, then, out of your miser’s chest

and study it as a sum not spent,

a jewel too valued, perfectly set.