THE PRAYER OF CYRUS BROWN
“The proper way for a man to pray”
said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
“and the only proper attitude
is down upon his knees.”
said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
“and the only proper attitude
is down upon his knees.”
“Nay, I should say the way to pray,”
said Reverend Dr. Wise
“is standing straight with outstretched arms
and rapt and upturned eyes.”
“Oh, no, no, no.” said Elder Snow
“Such posture is too proud
A man should pray with eyes fast closed
and head contritely bowed.”
“It seems to me his hands should be
astutely clasped in front.
With both thumbs a pointing toward the ground.”
Said Reverend Hunt.
“Las’ year I fell in Hodgkins well
head first,” said Cyrus Brown,
“With both my heels a-stikin’ up,
my head a-p’inting down,
An’ I made a prayer right there an’ then;
Best prayer I ever said;
The prayingest prayer I ever prayed,
A-standin on my head.”
~ Sam Walter Foss (1858 – 1911)
:-)))
I LOVE this!
Cyrus Brown’s prayer is really humorous. What I see in it, is not so much the posture, but the attitude one thinks as he prays. Is it selfish or does it include every one and every thing in the world?
A fun, delightful poem. Thanks, Evan
Sticking around and enjoying your blogs very much.
Too funny! Especially, of course, for Christian Scientists. And by a marvelous coincidence, today’s Writer’s Almanac has this by Robert Frost:
To prayer I think I go,
I go to prayer—
Along a darkened corridor of woe
And down a stair
In every step of which I am abased.
I wear a halter-rope about the waist.
I bear a candle end put out with haste.
For such as I there is reserved a crypt
That from its stony arches having dripped
Has stony pavement in a slime of mould.
There I will throw me down an unconsoled
And utter loss,
And spread out in the figure of a cross.—
Oh, if religion’s not to be my fate
I must be spoken to and told
Before too late!
“To prayer I think I go…” by Robert Frost, from Collected Poems, Prose & Plays
Great!
Love it, Evan. As I am sure we all do. Thank you for all your sharing.
Robert Frost my favorite poet and there he was on your blog which I look forward to everytime it appears in my inbox.Thanks Evan