đź•Š Let It Not Be Named
A Sestina on Speech, Light, and the Counsel of God
I hear of hate again—it stains the tone,
Like rust devouring gates once crowned with grace.
Each telling drenched in dross, no living spring—
No fountain clear, just echoes bent by words.
The air grows thick with every grim report,
And I, worn thin, ask God: “Must I bear this?”
He answers soft, “Beloved, flee from this.
Let not such things be named to shape thy tone—
Fornication, nor greed, nor foul report;
Let holiness adorn thee more than grace.
Speak not of filth, nor let decay in words—
But rather, thank. And drink from My own spring.” (Ephesians 5:3–4)
So I withdraw to find that sacred spring,
And ask Him, trembling, “How do I leave this?”
He leads me not through thunder, but through words:
“Set no vile thing before thee. Guard thy tone.
Their deeds shall not cleave to thee. Let My grace
Outshine their rot. Refuse the bitter report.” (Psalm 101:3)
Yet still I hear the ever-dark report,
Its embers reaching for my inner spring.
I cry again, “Lord, cleanse me by Thy grace!”
And He responds, “Be wise to good. Drop this.
Be simple toward all evil. Let thy tone
Be drawn from light.” (Romans 16:19)—His healing words.
Then came a shift. His breath became my words.
“Let no corrupt speech fall. Lift every report.
Speak what edifies, in heaven’s rooted tone.” (Ephesians 4:29)
And deeper still: “Where gossip breaks the spring,
Where whispers wound, remove thy feet from this.
A talebearer cleaves, but truth walks in grace.” (Proverbs 16:28; 26:20)
And then He spoke of thoughts shaped by His grace:
“What things are just, and pure—let these be words.
What’s lovely, true—think always upon this.” (Philippians 4:8)
I saw then how the soul is shaped by report,
How bitterness corrupts the inward spring,
How even silence lifts a holier tone.
My tone now tuned to Him, and not disgrace—
I found my spring restored through holy words.
No more I host the fire. I shut all this.
Written by Marguerite Grace
Copyright Protected
verse, possies, sonnets, and short stories 