Arise my body, my small body, we have striven
Enough, and He is merciful; we are forgiven.
Arise small body, puppet-like and pale, and go,
White as the bed-clothes into bed, and cold as snow,
...
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C.S. Lewis was probably inspired to write this poem after rising from prayer on his knees. 'We have stiven long enough' means he has prayed for God's forgiveness and because of God's forgiving grace he feels purged white as the cold bed sheets between which he slips. However, as he lays there alone in his thoughts, he feels as a garment 'faded in color thinned almost to raggedness' by the cleansing of dirt from his soul. And he in penance accepts the time it will take for his soul to feel warm again. He even admonishes himself to 'be not warm too quickly again', realizing that in his human frailty, he will only too soon sin again.