Secular Commandments
And Thou Shalt Not Murder, nor needlessly kill –
Thy life is too fleeting to shorten yet still.
And Thou Shalt Not Steal, nor undue extort –
Not objects, nor glories, nor notions bethought.
And Thou Shalt Not Greeding, nor proud eversuch –
As glutton-, or miser-, or tyrant-too-much.
And Thou Shalt Deceive Not, nor mislead by choice –
For whether by action, or absence, or voice.
And Thou Hypocrise Shan’t, nor thyself betray –
Believe not thy pretext, nor look t’other way.
And Thou Shalt Not Hatred, nor baseless decry –
Nor, even the guilty, redemption deny.
And Thou Shalt Respect Due, all those who doth earn –
Then labour thyself for esteem in return.
One Shalt and six Shalt Nots, one life to apply –
So can we achieve them, and can we not try ?
