A Prayer

When summer sweetness fills the land,

And summer sunlight floods the sea,

When ships sail by on either hand,

A richly laden argosy;

Oh may my boat, well freighted, ride,

With priceless treasures on the tide.

When cruel winds beat on the sea,

And angry clouds blot out the land,

When on the waters close to me

The shattered ships drift by unmanned,

Oh may my heart be strong to bear

Its portion, in the great despair.