Avarice Poem by gershon hepner

Some think the deadliest of sins is pride,
while others say the worst is vanity;
each one can make a man sound sense deride,
deluding with supposed urbanity.
There’s also greed, sloth, gluttony and lust,
but deadliest of sins is avarice,
offense in which you put in wealth your trust
before decay makes you cadaverous.
If you should fear funereal putrefaction,
pre-posthumous for afterlife ambitious,
before you die give me a benefaction,
for charity may save the avaricious.


Inspired by a sermon on the Seven Deadly Sins given by Saint Bernadino in Siena in the fifteenth century and quoted by Ingrid D. Rowland in “The Renaissance Revealed” (NYR, November 6,1997) .

10/27/97