Lyric Poem · Peace

A Prayer under the Pressure of Violent Anguish

by Robert Burns

Reading room

1O THOU Great Being! what Thou art,

2 Surpasses me to know;

3Yet sure I am, that known to Thee

4 Are all Thy works below.

5Thy creature here before Thee stands,

6 All wretched and distrest;

7Yet sure those ills that wring my soul

8 Obey Thy high behest.

9Sure, Thou, Almighty, canst not act

10From cruelty or wrath!

11O, free my weary eyes from tears,

12Or close them fast in death!

13But, if I must afflicted be,

14To suit some wise design,

15Then man my soul with firm resolves,

16To bear and not repine!

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“A Prayer under the Pressure of Violent Anguish” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/a-prayer-under-the-pressure-of-violent-anguish

Quick facts

Poem: A Prayer under the Pressure of Violent Anguish
Poet: Robert Burns
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Peace, Death & Loss, Sad

Craft notes

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Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 16 lines · 4 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 5-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Text, source & rights

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Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: PoetryDBA Prayer under the Pressure of Violent Anguish by robert-burns, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 db18047a199d2e98…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Peace Death & Loss Sad

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