A POEM BY HENRY VAN DYKE

 

A POEM BY HENRY VAN DYKE

 

          Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman.

         

          He was born on 10 November 1852 and died on 10 April 1933.

 

          He also served as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1913-1917.

         

          One of his best-known poems “Time Is” was read aloud at the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997.

          He is also famous for his quote: Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

 

          His poem These Are The Gifts I Ask which is given below is a sort of hymn addressed to God. The poem comprises two stanzas. In the first,  he seeks from God strength, courage, good cheer and inward joy for the hours of next. 

         

          In the second, he prays that his sins, cold disdain, hot anger, sullen hate, scorn of the lowly, envy of the great, and discontent that overshadows his daily life be taken away.

 

          The full text reads as follows:

         

THESE are the gifts I ask
Of Thee, Spirit serene:
Strength for the daily task,
Courage to face the road,
Good cheer to help me bear the traveler's load,
And, for the hours of rest that come between,
An inward joy of all things heard and seen.

These are the sins I fain
Would have Thee take away:
Malice and cold disdain,
Hot anger, sullen hate,
Scorn of the lowly, envy of the great,
And discontent that casts a shadow gray
On all the brightness of the common day.

                             *********

G.R.Kanwal

28 May 2025