Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MY PRAYER, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MY PRAYER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I do not ask, my god, for mystic power
Last Line: Of calm content.
Subject(s): Prayer


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.





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