"If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take."
She thinks only, 'this prayer rhymes,'
knows not its meaning, but in time
life's true dangers she will see.
Then hopefully she'll think of me
and the protection I will give
for as long as I shall live.
Carry On Tuesday 117
Rupert Brooke's poem, 'The Soldier'
"If I should die, think only this of me"
Jessica- I really like the way you broke up the quote within the poem. I have always loved that childhood prayer.
ReplyDeleteYou make the emotional connection to the prayer we all learned in childhood. Of course, there was also, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." The bed bugs have made a comeback, but I don't believe the prayer ever went away.
ReplyDeleteI love the sentiments in this poem, Jessica. The prayer gives as much comfort in older age as it does in childhood, I think!
ReplyDeleteJessica, that prayer always creeped me out, perhaps moreso because I was molested... yikes!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to say, "See you in Sleepytown!" And even though she's gone about 20 years now, she sometimes does turn up in my dreams. We play cards, drink coffee, laugh... Thanks for the reminder, Jess.
Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/i-heard-the-news-today-oh-boy/
Nice one!
ReplyDeleteLaurie - Sometimes you gotta break up the words to make them work better.
ReplyDeleteMike - Prayers that speak to people stick around.
Mary - It can certainly bring comfort.
Amy - I've thought it was kinda creepy since I realized what it meant.
That's very sweet about your mom.
Madeleine - Thank you!
lovely,
ReplyDeletedelightful word flow.
Thanks for sharing.
I thought this was just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOn another note I use to say the pray backwards:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord My soul to TAKE
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to KEEP
My reasoning as a kid was he would keep it/me safe while I slept. Then give it back when I needed it.
Morning - that's a very sweet comment
ReplyDeleteMarlene - That makes sense to me, and it still has a rhyme scheme :)