George Willis Cooke, comp. The Poets of Transcendentalism: An Anthology. 1903.
My PrayerHenry David Thoreau (18171862)
G
Than that I may not disappoint myself;
That in my action I may soar as high
As I can now discern with this clear eye.
That I may greatly disappoint my friends,
Howe’er they think or hope that it may be,
They may not dream how thou ’st distinguished me.
And my life practise more than my tongue saith;
That my low conduct may not show,
Nor my relenting lines,
That I thy purpose did not know,
Or overrated thy designs.