Lord, what am I, that with Unceasing Care
The speaker addresses the Lord, who waits and knocks at the gate through cold winter nights, and regrets failing to welcome him. Despite a guardian angel's repeated urging, the speaker keeps promising to open tomorrow and postpones again when tomorrow comes.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Christian Devotional Poetry, Sonnet · 203 words
First lines
(Manana)
By Lope de Vega
Lord, what am I, that with unceasing care, / Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst wait / Wet with unhealthy dews, before my gate, / And pass the gloomy nights of winter there? / O strange delusion! that I did not greet / Thy blest approach, and O, to Heaven how lost, / If my ingratitude's unkindly frost / Has chilled the bleeding wounds upon thy feet. / How oft my guardian angel gently cried, / "Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see / How he persists to knock and wait for thee! " / And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow, / "To-morrow we will open," I replied, / And when the morrow came I answered still "To-morrow. "
What this Textopian page supports
Lord, what am I, that with Unceasing Care is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Christian Devotional Poetry, Sonnet
- Length: 203 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Lord, what am I, that with Unceasing Care by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Christian Devotional Poetry — The speaker addresses the Lord in remorse, describing his wounded feet and confessing ingratitude toward his persistent approach.
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines move from the Lord's unanswered vigil to the guardian angel's appeal and the speaker's repeated postponement.
Tags
repentance · spiritual procrastination · guardian angel · divine patience · sonnet