A Plea For Mercy by Anne Porter

When I am brought before the Lord
What can I say to him
How plead for mercy?
I'll say I loved
My husband and the five
Children we had together
Though I was most unworthy

I'll say I loved
The summer mornings
I loved the way the sun comes up
And sets the dew on fire
I loved the way
The cobwebs shine
On the tall grass
When they are strung with dew

I'll say I loved
The way that little bird
The titmouse flies
I'll say I loved
Its lightness
Lilt
And beauty.

"A Plea For Mercy" by Anne Porter, from Living Things Collected Poems. © Zoland Books, 2006.