| Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917. | | | | A Prayer | | By V. H. Friedlander |
| | | LEAVE not a veil before my eyes, | |
| Tear from my mind the shield of lies, | |
| And from my soul the web of sophistries; | |
| Yea, though I stricken, shirk and flee, | |
| God, give me eyes to see. | 5 |
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| Send me no song so honey-sweet | |
| That I forget the harsher beat | |
| Of life, the pulsing discords of the street, | |
| Smite me with sorrow as a spear— | |
| But give me ears to hear. | 10 |
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| Grant me the will to pay for light, | |
| For vision overtopping sight, | |
| And dreams that are not of the passing night; | |
| Yield, at what price Thou shalt demand, | |
| A heart to understand. | 15 | | | |
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