I do not ask, my God, for mystic power To heal the sick and lame, the deaf and blind; I ask Thee humbly for the gracious dower Just to be kind. I do not pray to see the shining beauty Of highest knowledge most divinely true; I pray that, knowing well my simple duty, This I may do. I do not ask that men with flattering finger Should point me out within the crowded mart, But only that the thought of me may linger In one glad heart. I would not rise upon the men below me, Or pulling at the robes of men above; I would that friends, a few dear friends, may know me, And, knowing, love. I do not pray for palaces of splendor, Or far amid the world's delights to roam; I pray that I may know the meaning tender Of home, sweet home. I do not ask that heaven's golden treasure Upon my little, blundering life be spent; But oh, I ask Thee for the perfect pleasure Of calm content. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MUJER by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS OVER THE HILL TO THE POOR-HOUSE by WILLIAM MCKENDREE CARLETON TO A CHILD EMBRACING HIS MOTHER by THOMAS HOOD ON CATULLUS by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR INDEPENDENCE by HENRY DAVID THOREAU DOT LONG-HANDLED DIPPER by CHARLES FOLLEN ADAMS |