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Home  »  The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse  »  Charles Heavysege (1816–1876)

The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse

Self-Examination

Charles Heavysege (1816–1876)

OPEN, my heart, thy ruddy valves;

It is thy master calls;

Let me go down and, curious, trace

Thy labyrinthine halls.

Open, O heart, and let me view

The secrets of thy den;

My self unto myself now show

With introspective ken.

Expose thyself, thou covered nest

Of passions, and be seen;

Stir up thy brood, that in unrest

Are ever piping keen.

Ah! what a motley multitude,

Magnanimous and mean!