Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON THE DEITY, by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON THE DEITY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I read god's awful name emblazoned high
Last Line: And having lived to thee, in thee to die!
Alternate Author Name(s): Aikin, Anna Letitia
Subject(s): God


I read God's awful name emblazon'd high
With golden letters on th' illumin'd sky;
Nor less the mystic characters I see
Wrought in each flower, inscribed on every tree;
In every leaf that trembles to the breeze
I hear the voice of God among the trees.
With Thee in shady solitudes I walk,
With Thee in busy crowded cities talk;
In every creature own Thy forming power,
In each event Thy providence adore.

Thy hopes shall animate my drooping soul,
Thy precepts guide me and Thy fear control:
Thus shall I rest, unmov'd by all alarms,
Secure within the temple of Thine arms;
From anxious cares, from gloomy terrors free,
And feel myself omnipotent in Thee.

Then when the last, the closing hour draws nigh,
And earth recedes before my swimming eye, --
When trembling on the doubtful edge of fate
I stand, and stretch my view to either state: --
Teach me to quit this transitory scene
With decent triumph and a look serene;
Teach me to fix my ardent hopes on high,
And having lived to Thee, in Thee to die!





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