The Prayer of Miriam Cohen

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



From the wheel and the drift of Things
Deliver us, Good Lord,
And we will face the wrath of Kings,
The faggot and the sword!

Lay not thy Works before our eyes
Nor vex us with thy Wars,
Lest we should feel the straining skies
O'ertrod by trampling stars.

Hold us secure behind the gates
Of saving flesh and bone,
Lest we should dream what Dream awaits
The Soul escaped alone.

Thy Path, thy Purposes conceal
From our beleaguered realm
Lest any shattering whisper steal
Upon us and o'erwhelm.

A veil 'twixt us and Thee, Good Lord,
A veil 'twixt us and Thee--
Lest we should hear too clear, too clear,
And unto madness see!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
168

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG BHXH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 608
Words 117
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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