Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A MOTHER'S PRAYER, by BLANCHE BANTA RAMSEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A MOTHER'S PRAYER, by                    
First Line: Oh grant, dear lord, that I may be
Last Line: The mother that was meant for me.
Subject(s): Mothers; Prayer


Oh grant, dear Lord, that I may be
The mother that was meant for me.
Help me be patient, kind, and true,
No bitter words or petty acts to rue.
May my love be the kind to strengthen, keep,
Making for what is rich and deep.
Never the kind to fiercely hold
Young lives to mine as they unfold,
Blighting the wholeness theirs should be.
Grant me, dear Lord, to keep them free,
Free from a selfish, strangling yoke
That would hamper their souls, their hearts provoke.
Keep me, dear Lord, from the martyr fair
Who demands through all the lion's share.
Teach me, dear Father, myself to forget;
With keen vision seeing their needs -- and yet
Being able to help, but never intrude,
Fitting each act to their varying mood.
With understanding mind and sympathetic heart,
May I ever be able to do my part.
But, hardest of all, may the strength be mine
To forget myself, lest the fetters bind,
Fetters so delicate, strong, yet frail.
O, God, grant my prayer; may I not fail,
Fail to be all that my children need,
Yet never lost to the fateful greed
That saps the strength of many a son
Who might have fullest honors won,
Had he not sacrificed too much
Responding to a mother's touch.
Oh grant, dear Lord, that I may be
The mother that was meant for me.





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