 | [Poems by Cary in] The Poetical Works Of Alice and Phoebe Cary |  |
A PRAYER.
I ask not wealth, but power to take
And use the things I have aright,
Not years, but wisdom that shall make
My life a profit and delight.
And use the things I have aright,
Not years, but wisdom that shall make
My life a profit and delight.
I ask not, that for me, the plan
Of good and ill be set aside;
But that the common lot of man
Be nobly borne, and glorified.
Of good and ill be set aside;
But that the common lot of man
Be nobly borne, and glorified.
I know I may not always keep
My steps in places green and sweet,
Nor find the pathway of the deep
A path of safety for my feet;
My steps in places green and sweet,
Nor find the pathway of the deep
A path of safety for my feet;
But pray, that when the tempest's breath
Shall fiercely sweep my way about,
I make not shipwreck of my faith
In the unbottomed sea of doubt;
Shall fiercely sweep my way about,
I make not shipwreck of my faith
In the unbottomed sea of doubt;
And that, though it be mine to know
How hard the stoniest pillow seems,
Good angels still may come and go,
About the places of my dreams.
How hard the stoniest pillow seems,
Good angels still may come and go,
About the places of my dreams.
I do not ask for love below,
That friends shall never be estranged;
But for the power of loving, so
My heart may keep its youth unchanged.
That friends shall never be estranged;
But for the power of loving, so
My heart may keep its youth unchanged.
Youth, joy, wealth—Fate I give thee these;
Leave faith and hope till life is past;
And leave my heart's best impulses
Fresh and unfailing to the last!
Leave faith and hope till life is past;
And leave my heart's best impulses
Fresh and unfailing to the last!
| [Poems by Cary in] The Poetical Works Of Alice and Phoebe Cary | |