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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PRAYER, by CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON Poet's Biography First Line: If, when I kneel to pray Last Line: The blessing shall not fail. | |||
IF, when I kneel to pray, With eager lips I say: "Lord, give me all the things that I desire, -- Health, wealth, fame, friends, brave heart, religious fire, The power to sway my fellow-men at will, And strength for mighty works to banish ill," -- In such a prayer as this The blessing I must miss. Or if I only dare To raise this fainting prayer: "Thou seest, Lord, that I am poor and weak, And cannot tell what things I ought to seek; I therefore do not ask at all, but still I trust thy bounty all my wants to fill," -- My lips shall thus grow dumb, The blessing shall not come. But if I lowly fall, And thus in faith I call: "Through Christ, O Lord, I pray thee give to me Not what I would, but what seems best to thee Of life, of health, of service, and of strength, Until to thy full joy I come at length," -- My prayer shall then avail, The blessing shall not fail. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER DEATH by CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON LOVE by CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON THE PERFECT LIFE by CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON REPORT OF AN ADJUDGED CASE, NOT TO BE FOUND IN ANY BOOKS by WILLIAM COWPER SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: AMANDA BARKER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS AMONG THE REDWOODS by EDWARD ROWLAND SILL TO DEATH OF HIS LADY by FRANCOIS VILLON BEHIND TIME by ALEXANDER ANDERSON A SONNET. ON THE DEATH OF SYLVIA by PHILIP AYRES THE ELDER WOMAN'S SONG: 4, FR. KING LEAR'S WIFE by GORDON BOTTOMLEY |
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