Poems for the Sea/Prayers at Sea
PRAYERS AT SEA.
Prayer may be sweet in cottage homes,
Where sire and child devoutly kneel,
And through the open casement nigh
The vernal blossoms gently steal.
Prayer may be sweet in stately halls,
Where heart with kindred heart is blent,
And upward to the Eternal Throne
The hymn of praise melodious sent.
But he, who fain would know how strong,
The soul's appeal to God may be,
From friends and native land should turn,
A wanderer o'er the faithless sea;
Should hear its deep imploring tone
Rise upward o'er the thundering surge,
When breakers threat the reeling bark.
And winds with waves their conflict urge.
No spot on which his foot can rest,
No refuge where his form may flee,
How will he turn, O Rock Divine!
And bind his anchoring soul to Thee.
