Miserere Poem by Kate Seymour Maclean

Be pitiful, oh God! the night is long,
My soul is faint with watching for the light,
And still the gloom and doubt of seven-fold night
Hangs heavy on my spirit: Thou art strong.-
Pity me, oh my God!

I stretch my hands through darkness up to Thee,-
The stars are shrouded, and the night is dumb;
There is no earthly help,-to Thee I come
In all my helplessness and misery,-
Pity me, oh my God!

Be pitiful, oh God!-for I am weak,
And all my paths are rough, and hedged about,-
Hold Thou my hand dear Lord, and lead me out,
And bring me to the city which I seek,-
Pity me, oh my God!

By the temptation which Thou didst endure,
And by Thy fasting and Thy midnight prayer,
Jesu! let me not utterly despair;
Oh! hide me in the Rock from ill secure,-
Pity me, oh my God!

Mine eyes run down with tears that do not cease;
Oh! when beyond the river dark and cold,
Shall I the white walls of my home behold,-
The shining palaces-the streets of gold,-
And enter through the gates the City of Peace,-
Pity me, oh my God!