Naked
Pride is the untrue mask,
Shame is a cloak that clings,
Tenderness oft is a trammelling veil
Because of truth that stings.
O to be stript, and to use
All one’s soul entire!
To be seen in the light, to be known for one’s own,
To abound in the beauty of desire!
As the young man casts his clothes,
And, freed to the living air,
Runs down the radiant ocean—sands
With singing body bare.
