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Conscientious Objector
Edna St. Vincent Millay

I shall die, but that is all I shall do for Death.
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall:
I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste; he has business in Cuba, business in the
Balkans, many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle while he cinches the girth.
And he may mount by himself; I will not give him a leg up.

Though he flick my shoulders with his whip, I will not tell
    him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast, I will not tell him where the
    black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die, but that is all I shall do for Death;
I am not on his pay-roll.

I will not tell him the whereabouts of my friends
    nor of my enemies either.
Though he promise me much, I will not map him the route
    to any man's door.
Am I a spy in the land of living that I should deliver men
    to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of the city are safe with
    Me; never through me
Shall you be overcome.

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