Poems (Rowe)/A Child's Prayer

by Louise Jopling Rowe

A CHILD'S PRAYER

STRETCHED on the bed of suffering I lay,
 As weak and helpless as a new-born child;
Strength from my limbs seemed ebbing fast away,
 I felt it leave me, still I only smiled.

So changed was I! Once had come upon me,
 Great tremblings when on Death a thought I gave,
Now longed for him to set my spirit free,
 To join my Mother in the silent grave.

No single pang of sorrow did I feel
 At leaving those I fondly loved behind;
I felt a numbness o'er my senses steal,
 And cherished hopes I willingly resigned.

Then at that moment Memory arose,
 With clearest light presented my past life,
Each sinful thought and act before me rose,
 And pricked my Conscience sharper than a knife.

I saw with shame how talents God had giv'n
 To be improved were wasted, misapplied;
'Gainst temptation little had I striven,
 But yielded passively, and only sighed.

And as I gazed a fearful shuddering
 Crept o'er me. Methought I heard a voice say
"What shall th'account be like that thou wilt bring
 Unto thy Maker on the Judgement Day?"

Ah! Then I felt afraid to die! A prayer
 That I might live ascended up on high,
To expiate the past, my soul prepare
 For its celestial home above the sky.