A Prayer

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



O LORD, the hard-won miles
Have worn my stumbling feet:
Oh, soothe me with thy smiles,
And make my life complete.

The thorns were thick and keen
Where'er I trembling trod;
The way was long between
My wounded feet and God.

Where healing waters flow
Do thou my footsteps lead.
My heart is aching so;
Thy gracious balm I need

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

18 sec read
79

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 328
Words 62
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

All Paul Laurence Dunbar poems | Paul Laurence Dunbar Books

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