Knowledge
Once I thought that healing came
From the angels wings.
Now the bruised hands of men
Seem the kindest things.
Once I thought to pluck and eat
The fruit of Paradise.
Now I break with these their bread
With unsaddened eyes.
Once I thought to find on earth
Love, perfect and complete.
Now I know it carries wounds
In its hands and feet.
from The Shoes that Danced, and Other Poems, by Anna Hempstead Branch
Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1905
Available on the Internet Archive: Link
This is one in a series of neglected poems taken from the Internet Archive.