Sonnet 27 (Sonnets, 1833)

If I have sinn'd in act, I may repent ;
If I have err'd in thought, I may disclaim
My silent error, and yet feel no shame :
But if my soul, big with an ill intent,
Guilty in will, by fate be innocent,
Or being bad, yet murmurs at the curse
And incapacity of being worse,
That makes my hungry passion still keep Lent
In keen expectance of a Carnival ;
Where, in all worlds, that round the sun revolve -
And shed their influence on this passive ball,
Abides a power that can my soul absolve ? -
Could any sin survive, and be forgiven,
One sinful wish would make a hell of heaven.