A Prayer
Lord, not for light in darkness do we pray,Not that the veil be lifted from our eyes,Nor that the slow ascension of our dayBe otherwise.
Not for a clearer vision of the thingsWhereof the fashioning shall make us great,Not for remission of the peril and stingsOf time and fate.
Not for a fuller knowledge of the endWhereto we travel, bruised yet unafraid,Nor that the little healing that we lendShall be repaid.
Not these, O Lord. We would not break the barsThy wisdom sets about us; we shall climbUnfettered to the secrets of the starsIn Thy good time.
We do not crave the high perception swiftWhen to refrain were well, and when fulfil,Nor yet the understanding strong to siftThe good from ill.
Not these, O Lord. For these Thou hast revealed,We know the golden season when to reapThe heavy-fruited treasure of the field,The hour to sleep.
Not these. We know the hemlock from the rose,The pure from stained, the noble from the baseThe tranquil holy light of truth that glowsOn Pity’s face.
We know the paths wherein our feet should press,Across our hearts are written Thy decrees,Yet now, O Lord, be merciful to blessWith more than these.
Grant us the will to fashion as we feel,Grant us the strength to labour as we know,Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged with steel,To strike the blow.
Knowledge we ask not--knowledge Thou hast lent,But, Lord, the will--there lies our bitter need,Give us to build above the deep intentThe deed, the deed.
Words in this poem
- ascension n.
- The act of ascending; a rising; ascent. [F. ascension, L. ascensio, fr. ascendere. See Ascend.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Prayer is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Drinkwater, A Prayer, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/a-prayer.html, id L23031.
Form and metre
A Prayer is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB prayA · eyesB · dayA · otherwiseB
- 2 ABAB thingsA · greatB · stingsA · fateB
- 3 ABAB endA · unafraidB · lendA · repaidB
- 4 ABAB barsA · climbB · starsA · timeB
- 5 A-A- swiftA · fulfil · siftA · ill
- 6 ABAB revealedA · reapB · fieldA · sleepB
- 7 ABAB roseA · baseB · glowsA · faceB
- 8 ABAB pressA · decreesB · blessA · theseB
- 9 ABAB feelA · knowB · steelA · blowB
- 10 ABAB lentA · needB · intentA · deedB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lord, not for light in darkness do we pray, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Not that the veil be lifted from our eyes, | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| Nor that the slow ascension of our day | 10 | ····˘/˘·/· |
| Be otherwise. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Not for a clearer vision of the things | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whereof the fashioning shall make us great, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Not for remission of the peril and stings | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Of time and fate. | 4 | ···· |
| Not for a fuller knowledge of the end | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whereto we travel, bruised yet unafraid, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Nor that the little healing that we lend | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Shall be repaid. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Not these, O Lord. We would not break the bars | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy wisdom sets about us; we shall climb | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Unfettered to the secrets of the stars | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| In Thy good time. | 4 | ···· |
| We do not crave the high perception swift | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| When to refrain were well, and when fulfil, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Nor yet the understanding strong to sift | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The good from ill. | 4 | ···· |
| Not these, O Lord. For these Thou hast revealed, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| We know the golden season when to reap | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The heavy-fruited treasure of the field, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| The hour to sleep. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Not these. We know the hemlock from the rose, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| The pure from stained, the noble from the base | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The tranquil holy light of truth that glows | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| On Pity’s face. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| We know the paths wherein our feet should press, | 10 | ······/··· |
| Across our hearts are written Thy decrees, | 10 | ˘//··/˘·˘/ |
| Yet now, O Lord, be merciful to bless | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| With more than these. | 4 | ···· |
| Grant us the will to fashion as we feel, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Grant us the strength to labour as we know, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged with steel, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To strike the blow. | 4 | ···· |
| Knowledge we ask not--knowledge Thou hast lent, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| But, Lord, the will--there lies our bitter need, | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Give us to build above the deep intent | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The deed, the deed. | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.