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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE FIRST PRAYER by CHARLES SWAIN

First Line: TELL ME, O YE STARS OF NIGHT
Last Line: THAN THAT LOWLY INFANT'S PRAYER?
Subject(s): PRAYER;

TELL me, O ye stars of night --
In the ages ye have seen,
Aught more gentle, mild, and bright,
Aught more dear to angels' sight,
Hath there been;
Or more innocent and fair,
Than an infant's earliest prayer?

Tell me, O ye flowers that meet
By the valley or the stream,
Have ye incense half so sweet, --
Fragrance in your rich retreat, --
That ye deem
Half so dear to Heaven's care,
As an infant's quiet prayer?

Speak, and tell me, thou, O Time,
From the coming of the Word,
Aught more holy, more sublime,
From the heart of any clime,
Hast thou heard,
Than the voice ascending there,
Than that lowly infant's prayer?



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