My prayers must meet a brazen heaven
And fail and scatter all away.
Unclean and seeming unforgiven
My prayers I scarcely call to pray.
I cannot buoy my heart above; 
Above I cannot entrance win.
I reckon precedents of love, 
But feel the long success of sin.

My heaven is brass and iron my earth: 
Yea, iron is mingled with my clay, 
So harden'd is it in this dearth
Which praying fails to do away.
Nor tears, nor tears this clay uncouth
Could mould, if any tears there were.
A warfare of my lips in truth, 
Battling with God, is now my prayer. 

Added: Apr 8 2005 | Viewed: 665 times | Comments (0)

Poet: Gerard Manley Hopkins
Poem: My prayers must meet a brazen heaven

There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, My prayers must meet a brazen heaven, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!