Classic Poem

I fall, O Lord, before thy feet,
For thou hast taught me things most sweet,
Most pure, most grand.
Behold! I longed to conquer thee;
But am content — if this may be —
To kiss thine hand.

I dreamed of love, and passion wild,
But now, O Lord, am reconciled
To loveless hours.
Thou art so vast in purity!
I dreamed of sin; but, thanks to thee,
I dream of flowers.

Thou art my God: for thou hast taught
Truths reaching far beyond man's thought,
Deep truths and grave.
While other men defile, deflower,
Thou usest thine immortal power
To lift and save.

As man had made me, lo! I came,
A woman full of sin and shame
And woe and care;
With but one sweet thing left to show —
The endless glory and the glow
Of my gold hair.

This, therefore, Lord, I give to thee:
The one sweet pure thing left in me,
Golden, divine.
These locks that once were wanton gold
Around thy sacred feet I fold
For loving sign.

As man had made me, unto thee
I came: paths of iniquity
My feet had trod.
Shameless I was, and lost alas!
As thou hast made me, I can pass
Straight up to God.