Poems (Helen Jenkins)/The Penitent's Appeal

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THE PENITENT'S APPEAL.
My Father! O my God! wilt hear My penitential prayer?Though I have wandered far from Thee, And merit not Thy care,I feel Thou wilt not turn away When erring children kneel;But Thou wilt heed—in mercy heed— When sorrowing hearts appeal.
With rainbow visions I had clothed This changeful, fleeting life,Unconscious, in home's guarded walls, Of all its woe and strife;Shielded by watchful parents dear From the world's chilling phase,Till life seemed but a dream of love To my unwearied gaze.
I shrink as my maturer sight The blotted page unrolls;For, far and near, 'mid wails of woe The death-bell sadly tolls;And dark depravity and sin Have spread their direful trace,Till, as I look, a blackened veil Rests o'er the earth's fair face.
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I look within; my own heart meets Me with accusing pain;Far, far from Thee, a giddy child Living almost in vain!Yet seeking for a nobler life, Yearning to feel Thy loveLike sunlight falling on my soul, Its darkness to remove!
I can but turn to Thee; for here Alone is refuge sweet.Thou wilt forgive my sins, and give Me strength and wisdom meetTo do Thy will. Keep Thou my thoughts From evil all my days,Nor let my vain and careless lips Forget to sing Thy praise!
O, Thou art good and merciful! When shall we cease to sin?Ah, never till "beyond the gates" We all are gathered in!We are so frail, so weak, 'tis hard To keep the narrow way;But in that brighter, fairer land We shall not go astray.
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