"What Thou Must See and Hear"

"What Thou Must See and Hear"

O God, the pitiable things that thou must see!

       And oh, the pitiable things that thou must hear!

       The passionate prayers that must bombard thy ear;

The wretched beings that go down at sea,

And turn in the last hour—too late?—to thee!

       The hungry lips that plead for food and drink;

       The starving beasts that neither pray nor think,

But stand and bear their sufferings patiently!

The miserable prisoners in their dungeon cells

       Who lift their burning heads, that they may hear

The wild, sweet voices of the midnight bells

       The bring for them another bitter year …..

O God, the terrible things that thou must see!

And oh, the terrible things that thou must hear!

"What Thou Must See and Hear" printed in an unidentified publication, clipping courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA.