Alleged to be like one in which
———he washed his hands—
Electrum, touched with gold, and rich
———in figured bands
About the rim, where centaurs prance
———and woodland nymphs
Join ancient satyrs in the dance.
———But innocence
Is not responsibility
———cleansed by command;
And water, lifted, can but flee
———the trembling hand.
Jared Carter’s most recent book is The Land Itself (Monongahela Books). His first collection, Work, for the Night Is Coming (Macmillan), received the Walt Whitman Award.
