This poem also appeared in Spring in New Hampshire 1920 [†] Claude McKay A Prayer Claude McKay Spring in New Hampshire London Grant Richards Ltd. 1920 34 , with a dedication to Max Eastman.
'Mid the discordant noises of the day I hear thee calling;,†
I stumble as I fare along Earth's way; keep me from falling.
Mine eyes are open but they cannot see for gloom of night;
I can no more than lift my heart to thee for inward light.
The wild and fiery passion of my youth consumes my soul;
In agony I turn to thee for truth and self-control.
For Passion and all the pleasures it can give will die the death;
But this of me eternally must live, thy borrowed breath.
'Mid the discordant noises of the day I hear thee calling;,†
I stumble as I fare along Earth's way; keep me from falling.