The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar/Confessional

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

CONFESSIONAL

Search thou my heart;
  If there be guile,
It shall depart
  Before thy smile.

Search thou my soul;
  Be there deceit,
'T will vanish whole
  Before thee, sweet.

Upon my mind
  Turn thy pure lens;
Naught shalt thou find
  Thou canst not cleanse.

If I should pray,
  I scarcely know
In just what way
  My prayers would go.

So strong in me
  I feel love's leaven,
I 'd bow to thee
As soon as Heaven!