Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, RETROSPECT, by PHOEBE CARY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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First Line: O loving one, o bounteous one
Last Line: That they have hid my father's face.
Subject(s): Past; God


O LOVING One, O Bounteous One,
What have I not received from thee,
Throughout the seasons that have gone
Into the past eternity!

For looking backward through the year,
Along the way my feet have pressed,
I see sweet places everywhere,
Sweet places, where my soul had rest.

And, though some human hopes of mine
Are dead, and buried from my sight,
Yet from their graves immortal flowers
Have sprung, and blossomed into light.

Body, and heart, and soul, have been
Fed by the most convenient food;
My nights are peaceful all the while,
And all my mortal days are good.

My sorrows have not been so light,
The chastening hand I could not trace;
Nor have my blessings been so great
That they have hid my Father's face.





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