| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 783. A Prayer |
| | | By Edward Rowland Sill |
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| O GOD, our Father, if we had but truth! | |
| Lost truth—which thou perchance | |
| Didst let man lose, lest all his wayward youth | |
| He waste in song and dance; | |
| That he might gain, in searching, mightier powers | 5 |
| For manlier use in those foreshadowed hours. | |
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| If, blindly groping, he shall oft mistake, | |
| And follow twinkling motes | |
| Thinking them stars, and the one voice forsake | |
| Of Wisdom for the notes | 10 |
| Which mocking Beauty utters here and there, | |
| Thou surely wilt forgive him, and forbear! | |
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| Oh love us, for we love thee, Maker—God! | |
| And would creep near thy hand, | |
| And call thee “Father, Father,” from the sod | 15 |
| Where by our graves we stand, | |
| And pray to touch, fearless of scorn or blame, | |
| Thy garment’s hem, which Truth and Good we name. | |
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