An Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul today,

If I have caused one foot to go astray,

If I have walked in my own willful way—

Good Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,

If I have turned aside from want or pain,

Lest I myself should suffer through the strain---

Good Lord, forgive!

If I have craved for joys that are not mine,

If I have let my wayward heart repine,

Dwelling on things on earth, not things divine—

Good Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse, or hard, or cold,

If I have longed for shelter in thy fold

When thou hast given me some port to hold—

Good Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to thee,

Forgive the secret sins I do not see,

That which I knew not, Father, teach thou me—

Help me to live!

-       C. Maud Battersby[1]

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[1] C. Maude (the attribution misspells her name) Battersby (1856-1932) was an author of such diverse books as Gaspar, the Story of a Street Arab (1891) and Seven Times in the Fire: a Story of France in the Revolution (1892). But she also wrote verse, and it is for the above 1911 poem that she is remembered.  Set to music by Charles H. Gabriel, it is immensely popular even today. It has been translated into many languages, appears in dozens of hymnals, and has been recorded by many notable performers.