If Thy Hand Offend Thee

The Seventh Plague of Egypt (1823) by John Martin

Oh, Lord, I well recall

That fettered man in thrall

To his own leper hand

Hid ‘neath the ragged shawl

And naked of a band.

That slave has passed away

Though how I cannot say

For as by holy ruse,

Crimped still yet now to pray,

The hand lives without abuse.

You who are its maker

Know the hand’s own traitor,

And though I did rebel

Spared besides the member

The body whole from hell.