@3PRAISE God from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below. Every morning mercies new Fall as fresh as morning dew.@1" Yet we are choked with sin With bestial lusts and guile; God (so it runs) made this world clean And Man has made it vile. Aye, here Man lives on man, And breaks him day by day— But in the trampled jungle The tiger claws his prey. God's curse is on the thief; The murderer fares ill— Who gave the beasts their taste for blood Who taught them how to kill? "@3All praise to Him Who built the hills, All praise to Him Who each stream fills; All praise to Him Who lights each star That sparkles in the sky afar.@1" All praise to Him who made The earthquake and the flood; All praise to Him who made the pest That sucks away the blood. All praise to Him whose mind Had the desire to make The shark, the scorpion, the gnat And the envenomed snake. Beauty itself He turns To slay and to be slain— A thousand evil poisons His peaceful woods contain. "@3Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice! Rejoice! Again I say, rejoice! For His mercies, they are sure His compassion will endure!@1" Rejoice because each man Has but a man's desire To sin the little human sins As a child that plays with fire. Rejoice because God's plans Are far too deep for talk... He lets the swallow feed on flies— Then gives it to the hawk! Rejoice because He made A world in some wild mood; A world that feeds upon itself— '@3And God saw it was good.@1..' Yet who are we to rail— Vainly we strive and storm— God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform! 'Blind unbelief is sure to err,' They say, and yet again, 'God is His own interpreter'— @3When will He make it plain?@1 | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OFFERING by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 2. LOS CIGARILLOS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE LAMP OF LIFE by AMY LOWELL BROTHERHOOD (2) by EDWIN MARKHAM BOYHOOD FRIENDS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TO WHISTLER, AMERICAN; ON LOAN EXHIBIT OF PAINTINGS AT TATE GALLERY by EZRA POUND |