 | The poetical works of Lucy Larcom |  |
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DAILY BREAD.
What is the daily bread,
Father, we ask of Thee,—
We, who must still be fed
Out of Thy bounty free?
Father, we ask of Thee,—
We, who must still be fed
Out of Thy bounty free?
Not at the household board
Is our deep want supplied:
Bins may be amply stored,
And souls unsatisfied.
Is our deep want supplied:
Bins may be amply stored,
And souls unsatisfied.
For not by bread alone
Can we, Thy children, live:
Some heavenly food unknown
Thou unto us must give.
Can we, Thy children, live:
Some heavenly food unknown
Thou unto us must give.
We ask not meat to nurse
Ambition's vain desire,
Nor greed of gain, the curse
Of inward cankering fire;
Ambition's vain desire,
Nor greed of gain, the curse
Of inward cankering fire;
Nor the poor, tasteless husks
That swine have torn and trod
And ground with beastly tusks:
Let clod be given to clod!
That swine have torn and trod
And ground with beastly tusks:
Let clod be given to clod!
Nurtured we all must be
By Thy sweet Word alone:
Asking this bread of Thee,
Thou wilt not give a stone.
By Thy sweet Word alone:
Asking this bread of Thee,
Thou wilt not give a stone.
Thy Life, O God! Thy Word,
Outspoken through Thy Son!
In Him our prayer is heard,
Our heart's desire is won.
Outspoken through Thy Son!
In Him our prayer is heard,
Our heart's desire is won.
To sacrifice, to share,
To give, even as He gave;
For others' wants to care;
Not our own lives to save;
To give, even as He gave;
For others' wants to care;
Not our own lives to save;
With love for all around
Our days and hours to fill:
Thus be it ever found
Our meat to do Thy will!
Our days and hours to fill:
Thus be it ever found
Our meat to do Thy will!
This is the living bread
Which cometh down from Heaven,
Wherewith our souls are fed;
The pure, immortal leaven.
Which cometh down from Heaven,
Wherewith our souls are fed;
The pure, immortal leaven.
283
The hidden manna this,
Whereof who eateth, he
Grows up in perfectness
Of Christ-like symmetry.
Whereof who eateth, he
Grows up in perfectness
Of Christ-like symmetry.
Who seeks this bread shall be
Nor stinted, nor denied:
Our hungry souls in Thee,
O Christ, are satisfied!
Nor stinted, nor denied:
Our hungry souls in Thee,
O Christ, are satisfied!
| The poetical works of Lucy Larcom | |