Because I knew not when my life was good

Because I knew not when my life was good. Sarah Williams* (1838-1868).  This dramatic and insightful poem was printed in Williams’s Twilight Hours. A Legacy of Verse (1868), the book published in November after her death in April of that year. It had a Memoir by Edward Hayes Plumptre*, her former teacher. It was entitled ‘Penitence’. It had eight stanzas: Because I knew not when my life was good   And when there was a light upon my path, But turned my soul perversely to the dark -     O Lord, I do repent.  Because I held upon my selfish road,   And left my brother wounded on the way, And called ambition duty, and pressed on -     O Lord, I do repent.  Because I spent the strength Thou...

If you have a valid subscription to Dictionary of Hymnology, please log in to view this content. If you require a subscription, please click here.

Cite this article