THE PRAYER PERFECT
Reading edition
By James Whitcomb Riley
Dear Lord! kind Lord! Gracious Lord! I pray Thou wilt look on all I love, Tenderly to-day! Weed their hearts of weariness; 5 Scatter every care Down a wake of angel wings Winnowing the air. Bring unto the sorrowing All release from pain;10 Let the lips of laughter Overflow again; And with all the needy Oh, divide, I pray, This vast treasure of content 15 That is mine to-day!
1. James Whitcomb Riley (1853-1916) is an American poet, best known for his poems for and about children. You probably know "The Raggedy Man," "Little Orphant Annie," and "The Circus-Day Parade." "The Prayer Perfect" is an example of his serious verse.
2. From what three evils does the poet pray to have his friends delivered? What good things does he want them to have? What, beside the things he says here, shows that Riley thought laughter a blessing?
(From the Biographical Edition of the Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley, copyright 1913, used by special permission of the Publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company)