Public-domain source text

Prayer

by Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis

From Standard Ebooks · standardebooks/sarah-louisa-forten-purvis_poetry

This sacred right none are denied, Which makes the soul to Christ allied; Man bends the heart and bows the knee, And knows in prayer that he is free.
Yes, free to ask of Him, whate’er The fainting heart alone can cheer; To worship at that holy shrine, Where beams thy Spirit, Lord, divine.
And Afric’s children they are free, To breathe their vows, their prayers to Thee; With thought of future joy and gain, The slave forgets his grief and pain;
Forgets awhile his slavish fear; Forgets⁠—that fetters bind him here; And in that sweet communion rest His hopes, his fears⁠—for he is blest.

Source record

This is a source transcription from Standard Ebooks, published in Past Poetry’s public-domain archive without line-by-line editorial notes. Public-domain source edition. Availability can vary by territory.

View the source edition →