I love you for the grief that lurks within
Your languid spirit, and because you wear
Corruption with a vague and childish air
And with your beauty know the depths of sin;
Because shame cuts you and holds you like a gin
And virtue dies in you slain by despair
Since evil has you tangled in its snare
And triumphs on the soul good cannot win
I love you since you know remorse and tears
And in your troubled loveliness appears
The spot of ancient crimes that writhe and hiss

I love you for your hands that calm and bless
The perfume of your sad and slow caress
The avid poison of your subtle kiss