Peace

This holiday picture, taken in Bodnant Gardens, in the Conwy Valley, reminded me of a poem by Jones Very in which the soul longs for God's presence. Very was an American mystic and poet, a Unitarian minister and a friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Prayer

Will Thou not visit me?

The plant beside me feels Thy gentle dew,

And every blade of grass I see

From Thy deep earth its quickening moisture drew.

Wilt Thou not visit me?

Thy morning calls on me with cheering tone;

And every hill and tree

Lend but one voice - the voice of Thee alone.

Come, for I need Thy love,

More than the flower the dew, or grass the rain;

Come gently as Thy holy dove

And let me in Thy sight rejoice to live again.

I will not hide from them

 When Thy storms come, though fierce may be their wrath,

But bow with leafy stem,

And, strengthened, follow on Thy chosen path.

Yes, Thou wilt visit me:

Nor plant nor tree Thine eye delights so well,

As, when from sin set free,

My spirit loves with Thine in peace to dwell.

                                                               Jones Very 1813-80