A Prayer

LEAVE not a veil before my eyes,

Tear from my mind the shield of lies,

And from my soul the web of sophistries;

Yea, though I stricken, shirk and flee,

God, give me eyes to see.

Send me no song so honey-sweet

That I forget the harsher beat

Of life, the pulsing discords of the street,

Smite me with sorrow as a spear—

But give me ears to hear.

Grant me the will to pay for light,

For vision overtopping sight,

And dreams that are not of the passing night;

Yield, at what price Thou shalt demand,

A heart to understand.