“A Prayer” by Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 23, 2017   A Prayer   Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.

As I lie in bed, Flat on my back; There passes across my ceiling An endless panorama of things— Quick steps of gay-voiced children, Adolescence in its wondering silences, Maid and man on moonlit summer's eve, Women in the holy glow of Motherhood, Old men gazing silently thru the twilight Into the beyond. O God, give me words to make my dream-children live.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "A Prayer" was published in The Book of American Negro Poetry (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922), edited by James Weldon Johnson.   Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. was born on February 2, 1861, in Nelson County, Kentucky. His collections of poetry include A Rhyming (New South Publishing, Co., 1895) and Collected Poems (Henry Harrison, 1938). He died in 1949. Poetry by Cotter, Jr.   Collected Poems (University of Georgia Press, 1990) "Dream Variations" by Langston Hughes "El Beso" by Angelina Weld Grimké "I Want to Die While You Love Me" by Georgia Douglas Johnson Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. If you enjoy Poem-a-Day, please consider making a donation to help make it possible. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038