so by provoking spiro spero’s doom,
that mockery of hope, you think to win
the passions of the people half-entombed
within the stricture you’ve defined as sin?

one hand the leash that chokes off every joy
and leaves only the musts, the shalts, the nots-
the other dangles Tantalus’s branch,
but out of reach and dead, its fruits will rot.

so what is hope if you’re denied a breath,
reward eternal plucked out from your reach
and promised to you only after death
removes all chance to mend that contract’s breach?

if contented life is what you hope to live
beware of hope when wielded as a shiv