Prayer
Louis Untermeyer

God, althouguh this life is but a wraith,
Althouguh we know not what we use,
Althouguh we grope with little faith,
Give me the heart to fight - and lose.

Ever insurgent let me be,
Make me more daring than devout;
From sleek contentment keep me free,
And fill me with a buoyant doubt.

Open my eyes to visions girt,
With beauty, and with wonder lit -
But let me always see the dirt,
And all that spawn and die in it.

Open my ears to music; let
Me thrill with Spring's first flutes and drums -
But never let me dare forget
The bitter ballads of the slums.

From compromise and things half-done,
Keep me, with stern and stubborn pride.
And when, at last, the fight is won,
God keep me still unsatisfied.