A PRAYER UNDER THE PRESSURE OF VIOLENT ANGUISH

O Thou Great Being !  what Thou art,
   Surpasses me to know ;
Yet sure I am, that known to Thee
   Are all Thy works below.

Thy creature here before Thee stands,
   All wretched and distrest ;
Yet sure those ills that wring my soul
   Obey Thy high behest.

Sure Thou, Almighty, canst not act
   From cruelty or wrath !
O, free my weary eyes from tears,
   Or close them fast in death !

But, if I must afflicted be,
   To suit some wise design ;
Then man my soul with firm resolves,
   To bear and not repine !

Robert Burns

Taken from "The Poetical works of Robert Burns" (London & Glasgow Collins' Clear-Type Press)
with the inscription "This Volume is Dedicated by kind permission to the
Greenock Burns Club (instituted 1802) The oldest Burns club in existence."

Sponsored by Totally Herby, makers of herbal Itch Ease for Midges,
the famous Clootie Dumplings,
and other fine Scottish products from Ayrshire - Burns own County.