If hate be unforgivable,
Then must I unforgiven be,
For I shall hate one woman, Lord,
For all eternity.
Forgiven or not, I hate her so
That did she, burnt with fever, lie,
I’d spill the ice-up that she craved
And laugh to see her die.
Yes, Lord, yea, Lord—I hate her so
That, were she sent to deepest hell,
I’d pray the awful fires might do
Their part slow—slow—and well.
A draft of “Hate” with its original title “Cleopatra”, courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham Washington.
“Hate” appears in Higginson’s When the Birds Go North Again (1898). The poem was inspired by a theatrical performance Higginson attended in Chicago. It remains her only poem that received a negative review. One critic assumed Higginson was writing about a woman Higginson knew. The critic harshly rebuked Higginson in The Washington Standard. To read the full story, click here.