Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PASSIONATE SWORD by JEAN STARR UNTERMEYER

Poet Analysis

First Line: TEMPER MY SPIRIT, O LORD
Subject(s): GOD;
Temper my spirit, oh Lord,
Burn out its alloy,
And make it a pliant steel for thy wielding,
Not a clumsy toy,
A blunt, iron thing in my hands
That blunder and destroy.
Temper my spirit, oh Lord,
Keep it long in the fire;
Make it one with the flame. Let it share
That up-reaching desire.
Grasp it thyself, oh my God;
Swing it straighter and higher!



Home: PoetryExplorer.net