When I pass from earth away, Palsied though I be and gray, May my spirit keep so young That my failing, faltering tongue Frames that prayer so dear to me Taught me at my mother's knee: 'Now I lay me down to sleep,' (Passing to Eternal rest On the loving parent breast) 'I pray the Lord my soul to keep;' (From all danger safe and calm In the hollow of His palm 'If I should die before I wake,' (Drifting with a bated breath Out of slumber into death,) 'I pray the Lord my soul to take.' (From the body's claim set free Sheltered in the Great to be.) Simple prayer of trust and truth Taught me in my early youth- Let my soul its beauty keep When I lay me down to sleep. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...NAMING FOR LOVE by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE USES OF POETRY by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS THE MEANING OF THE LOOK by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING LOVE'S APOTHEOSIS by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE CHOIRMASTER'S BURIAL by THOMAS HARDY MR. BARNEY MAGUIRE'S ACCOUNT OF THE CORONATION by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |