Poetry
Disturb Us, Lord
A Prayer by Sir FRANCIS DRAKE
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (1540 - 1596) was an English sea captain of the Elizabethan era.
May 24, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Brijinder Khurana (Delhi, India), May 25, 2011, 8:50 AM.
It's a wonderful poem. "So kyo(n) bisrey jin sab kich diya ..."
2: Devinder Singh (India), May 26, 2011, 8:43 AM.
The ship is a beautiful metaphor for man's journey through life. Fearing failure we are not adventurous enough - we hug the shore. Having taken birth we have fallen in love with ignorance and fail to seek the truth. We are content with imperfection. In seeking challenges that test the limit of our capacities we unveil hidden powers that lie dormant in us and thus make us better. Taking refuge in the Guru, we find the strength and courage to build a new world order - a heaven on earth. That is the very essence of Sikhi. I am surprised the message had reached England so early.