Jessica Nelson North. The Wages of Sin. Harriet Monroe, ed. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912-22

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22.

The Wages of Sin

By Jessica Nelson North


GOD the Inscrutable
Looked on complacently
The while young Denison
Slipped all his debts by careful insolvency,
Broke his wife’s heart, and ruined the serving girl.	5
But Lobster Salad and Iced Watermelon—
That was too much for even a godhead:
“I’ll smite him for that,” quoth God the Inscrutable.
And the wretch died in torment
At two in the morning.	10