THOU hast no lightnings, O Thou Just! Or I their force should know; And if Thou strike me into dust, My soul approves the blow. The heart, that values less its ease Than it adores Thy ways, In Thine avenging anger sees A subject of its praise. Pleased I could lie, concealed and lost, In shades of central night; Not to avoid Thy wrath, Thou knowest, But lest I grieve Thy sight. Smite me, O Thou, whom I provoke; And I will love Thee still; The well-deserved and righteous stroke Shall please me, though it kill. Am I not worthy to sustain The worst Thou canst devise? And dare I seek Thy throne again, And meet Thy sacred eyes? Far from afflicting, Thou art kind: And in my saddest hours An unction of Thy grace I find, Pervading all my powers. Alas! Thou sparest me again; And when Thy wrath should move, Too gentle to endure my pain, Thou sooth'st me with Thy love. I have no punishment to fear; But, ah! that smile from Thee Imparts a pang far more severe Than woe itself would be. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A DREAM OF JULIUS CAESAR by ROBERT FROST ELEGY: 3. CHANGE by JOHN DONNE CLEOMENS, OR THE SPARTAN HERO: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN ELEGY BEFORE DEATH by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY AFTER DEATH by FRANCES ISABEL PARNELL THE DEAD LARK by ALEXANDER ANDERSON |