Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PRAYERS I SAW ASCEND, by BERTHA L. GIBBONS First Line: I never saw a prayer ascend to god Last Line: But many a prayer I saw ascend to god. Subject(s): Ireland; Prayer; Irish | ||||||||
I never saw a prayer ascend to God Until I went to Ireland. Incense breathing from a censer Simulates a prayer, But it is colorless, Its swinging mechanism apparent To eye and ear. In Ireland, From every humble roof of thatch, From the one peat fire through the one chimney, Household prayers arise, Pale blue, transparent, Natural and unlabored as a placid breath, So nearly matching the calm of heaven's blue As scarcely to be discerned Till seen against a tree's green foliage. Fresh and ever young, They seem the essence made visible Of that spirit which keeps forever young The blue eyes, smiling from weathered faces, Of the mothers of Ireland. In Ireland I did not see The little people of the glen, But many a prayer I saw ascend to God. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SIGHTSEERS by PAUL MULDOON THE DREAM SONGS: 290 by JOHN BERRYMAN AN IRISH HEADLAND by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE GIANT'S RING: BALLYLESSON, NEAR BELFAST by ROBINSON JEFFERS IRELAND; WRITTEN FOR THE ART AUTOGRAPH DURING IRISH FAMINE by SIDNEY LANIER THE EYES ARE ALWAYS BROWN by GERALD STERN ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EXEKIEL, DANIEL by MARIANNE MOORE |
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