The Unpardonable Sin

Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)



This is the sin against the Holy Ghost: —
To speak of bloody power as right divine,
And call on God to guard each vile chief's house,
And for such chiefs, turn men to wolves and swine:—

To go forth killing in White Mercy's name,
Making the trenches stink with spattered brains,
Tearing the nerves and arteries apart,
Sowing with flesh the unreaped golden plains.

In any Church's name, to sack fair towns,
And turn each home into a screaming sty,
To make the little children fugitive,
And have their mothers for a quick death cry,—

This is the sin against the Holy Ghost:
This is the sin no purging can atone:—
To send forth rapine in the name of Christ:—
To set the face, and make the heart a stone.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
98

Quick analysis:

Scheme Abxb xcxc xdxd Aexe
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 703
Words 137
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

All Vachel Lindsay poems | Vachel Lindsay Books

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