William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. (1878–1962). Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1920.
Invocation
M
Strengthen my soul to deliver your war-cry,
Make of my voice a blue-edged sword, Oh, Lord!
Out of my pity a great battle ax,
Out of my frailness fashion a piercing reed!
A vision consumes me and tears me apart,
I have had a vision and I cannot sleep.
Gird yourself in the steel of your vision,
Oh body of mine, make of yourself a stronghold!
Make of my song a summons to prayer,
Make of my breath an infinite prophecy, Oh, Lord!
Make of my spirit a song so that I may announce it!
A vision consumes me and I am its slave and its lover.