Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DRAWING WATER, by PHOEBE CARY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: He had drunk from founts of pleasure Last Line: With a golden chain of prayer. Subject(s): Life; Prayer; Thirst; Water | ||||||||
HE had drunk from founts of pleasure, And his thirst returned again; He had hewn out broken cisterns, And behold! his work was vain. And he said, "Life is a desert, Hot, and measureless, and dry; And God will not give me water, Though I strive, and faint, and die." Then he heard a voice make answer, "Rise and roll the stone away; Sweet and precious springs lie hidden In thy pathway every day." And he said, his heart was sinful, Very sinful was his speech: "All the cooling wells I thirst for Are too deep for me to reach." But the voice cried, "Hope and labor; Doubt and idleness is death; Shape a clear and goodly vessel, With the patient hands of faith." So he wrought and shaped the vessel, Looked, and lo! a well was there; And he drew up living water, With a golden chain of prayer. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...STARS WHICH SEE, STARS WHICH DO NOT SEE by MARVIN BELL WASHING OUR HANDS OF THE REST OF AMERICA by MARVIN BELL WATER, WINTER, FIRE by MARVIN BELL A LEGEND OF THE NORTHLAND by PHOEBE CARY |
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