The brand is on thy brow,
A dark and guilty spot;
'Tis ne'er to be erased!
'Tis ne'er to be forgot!
The brand is on thy brow!
Yet I must shade the spot:
For who will love thee now,
If I love thee not?
Thy soul is dark, — is stained; —
From out the bright world thrown;
By God and man disdained,
But not by me, — thy own!
Oh! even the tiger slain
Hath one who ne'er doth flee,
Who soothes his dying pain!
— That one am I to thee!
Barry Cornwall
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-song-of-a-felon-s-wife/
