And from above a voice fused half in iron  
  Half in irony gives man a dreadful choice.  
  The role is his, it says, Man makes and loads his own strange dice,  
  They sum at his behest,  
  He dooms himself. He is his own sad jest.  
  Let go? Let be?  
  Why do you ask this gift from Me?  
  When, trussed and bound and nailed,  
  You sacrifice your life, your liberty  
  You hang yourself upon the tenterhook.  
  Pull free!
Christ, Old Student in a New School (1972)























