 | The verse-book of a homely woman |  |
In Convalescence
NOT long ago, I prayed for dying
grace,
For then I thought to see Thee face to
face.
And now I ask (Lord, 'tis a weakling's
cry)
That Thou wilt give me grace to live, not
die.
Such foolish prayers! I know. Yet
pray I must.
Lord help me — help me not to see the
dust!
And not to nag, nor fret because the blind
Hangs crooked, and the curtain sags behind.
But, oh! The kitchen cupboards! What a
sight!
'T'will take at least a month to get them
right.
And that last cocoa had a smoky taste,
And all the milk has boiled away to waste!
And — no, I resolutely will not think
About the saucepans, nor about the sink.
These light afflictions are but temporal
things —
To rise above them, wilt Thou lend me
wings?
Then I shall smile when Jane, with towzled
hair
(And lumpy gruel!), clatters up the stair.
grace,
For then I thought to see Thee face to
face.
And now I ask (Lord, 'tis a weakling's
cry)
That Thou wilt give me grace to live, not
die.
Such foolish prayers! I know. Yet
pray I must.
Lord help me — help me not to see the
dust!
And not to nag, nor fret because the blind
Hangs crooked, and the curtain sags behind.
39
sight!
'T'will take at least a month to get them
right.
And that last cocoa had a smoky taste,
And all the milk has boiled away to waste!
And — no, I resolutely will not think
About the saucepans, nor about the sink.
These light afflictions are but temporal
things —
To rise above them, wilt Thou lend me
wings?
Then I shall smile when Jane, with towzled
hair
(And lumpy gruel!), clatters up the stair.
| The verse-book of a homely woman | |