Lyric Poem · Peace

Prayer—O Thou Dread Power

by Robert Burns

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1O THOU dread Power, who reign’st above,

2 I know thou wilt me hear,

3When for this scene of peace and love,

4 I make this prayer sincere.

5The hoary Sire—the mortal stroke,

6 Long, long be pleas’d to spare;

7To bless this little filial flock,

8 And show what good men are.

9She, who her lovely offspring eyes

10 With tender hopes and fears,

11O bless her with a mother’s joys,

12 But spare a mother’s tears!

13Their hope, their stay, their darling youth.

14 In manhood’s dawning blush,

15Bless him, Thou God of love and truth,

16 Up to a parent’s wish.

17The beauteous, seraph sister-band—

18 With earnest tears I pray—

19Thou know’st the snares on ev’ry hand,

20 Guide Thou their steps alway.

21When, soon or late, they reach that coast,

22 O’er Life’s rough ocean driven,

23May they rejoice, no wand’rer lost,

24 A family in Heaven!

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“Prayer—O Thou Dread Power” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/prayer-o-thou-dread-power

Quick facts

Poem: Prayer—O Thou Dread Power
Poet: Robert Burns
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Peace, Love, 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: 24 lines · 6 quatrains
End rhyme: No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length: Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: PoetryDBPrayer—O Thou Dread Power 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 5dcd5aac2cae6f2e…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Peace Love Sad

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