O GOD, our Father, if we had but truth! Lost truth -- which thou perchance Didst let man lose, lest all his wayward youth He waste in song and dance; That he might gain, in searching, mightier powers For manlier use in those foreshadowed hours. If, blindly groping, he shall oft mistake, And follow twinkling motes Thinking them stars, and the one voice forsake Of Wisdom for the notes Which mocking Beauty utters here and there, Thou surely wilt forgive him, and forbear! Oh love us, for we love thee, Maker -- God! And would creep near thy hand, And call thee "Father, Father," from the sod Where by our graves we stand, And pray to touch, fearless of scorn or blame, Thy garment's hem, which Truth and Good we name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FISHER by JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE IN THIS AGE OF HARD TRYING, NONCHALANCE IS GOOD AND by MARIANNE MOORE AN OLD BATTLE-FIELD by FRANK LEBBY STANTON COMFORT by RUTH FITCH BARTLETT THE MEANING by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE THE BURGHERS OF CALAIS by EMILY A. BRADDOCK SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 42 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |