Analysis of Father, I Know That All My Life
"My times are in Thy hand." -- Psalm XXXI.15
Father, I know that all my life
Is portioned out for me,
And the changes that are sure to come,
I do not fear to see;
But I ask Thee for a present mind
Intent on pleasing Thee.
I ask Thee for a thoughtful love,
Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And to wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself,
To soothe and sympathise.
I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do
Or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.
Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoe'er estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts
To keep and cultivate;
And a work of lowly love to do
For the Lord on whom I wait.
So I ask Thee for the daily strength,
To none that ask denied,
And a mind to blend with outward life
While keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space,
If Thou be glorified.
And if some things I do not ask,
In my cup of blessing be,
I would have my spirit filled the more
With grateful love to Thee --
More careful -- not to serve Thee much,
But to please Thee perfectly.
There are briers besetting every path,
That call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot,
And an earnest need for prayer;
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee
Is happy anywhere.
In a service which Thy will appoints,
There are no bonds for me,
For my inmost heart is taught "the truth"
That makes Thy children "free;"
And a life of self-renouncing love
Is a life of liberty.
Scheme | A BCXAXC DAAAXA XEFEXE XGAGFG XHBHAH XCXCXC XIXICI ACXCDC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101111 10111111 11111 001011111 111111 111110101 011101 11110101 110101 11011101 0110101 001110101 1101 11110101 110101 10111111 110111 11110101 010111 01000111 0101 1101011 11010 001110111 1011111 111110101 111101 001111101 110111 10110101 11110 01111111 0111101 111110101 110111 11011111 1111100 1110101001 111101 110101001 0110111 101011111 11010 001011101 111111 11111101 111101 001110101 1011100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,481 |
Words | 306 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 49 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 1:31 min read
- 237 Views
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"Father, I Know That All My Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3056/father%2C-i-know-that-all-my-life>.
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