The Light That Is Felt

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



A tender child of summers three,
Seeking her little bed at night,
Paused on the dark stair timidly.
'Oh, mother! Take my hand,' said she,
'And then the dark will all be light.'

We older children grope our way
From dark behind to dark before;
And only when our hands we lay,
Dear Lord, in Thine, the night is day,
And there is darkness nevermore.

Reach downward to the sunless days
Wherein our guides are blind as we,
And faith is small and hope delays;
Take Thou the hands of prayer we raise,
And let us feel the light of Thee!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
100

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAAB CDCCD EAEEA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 521
Words 105
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

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