Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
Lucrezia Borgias Last LetterAntoinette DeCoursey Patterson
B
Lucrezia Borgia to the Pope at Rome—
Wherein she begs, as life’s remaining fetter
Slips from her, that his prayers will guide her home:
As swift my end approaches, Father, I,
A Christian though a sinner, ask your blessing
And kiss your feet in all humility.
And after the last sacrament great peace
Will be mine own—in overflowing measure,
If but your mercy marks my soul’s release.
As though the dying hand had lost its power:
My children to Rome’s love and care commending—
Ferrara—Friday—at the fourteenth hour.
About the page of saintly sophistries—
And I am thinking clever were the fingers
That could mix poison and write words like these.