I tell you this, my friend ...

by Robert E. Howard

I tell you this, my friend,

Blasphemy lies amid expressed belief,

That differs with the orthodox opinion.

If I have a mind

And use it for myself nor lick the boots

Of other, wiser maybe, men,

I blaspheme in their eyes. ’Tis not

That I fling mud on their belief,

But simply that I disagree with them.