On the desk of the 35th U.S. president sat a plaque which read: “Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.” The first time I heard this poem it was read to music; it’s apparently the lyrics of a hymn that was published in 1965 or so. I had no idea about its presidential connection, but the first lines resonate, so I thought I’d see if I could find the rest. I’m glad I did. If you’re feeling a bit of overwhelm, imagine yourself one boat in a vast sea… Storms may rise, waves may come, but you, dear one, are built to float.
Sail on.
Poetry Friday today is hosted by Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone, a delightfully provocatively named blog.
Oh, Tanita, that’s so lovely. May you too sail on, my friend!
♥
My first thought reading this was that it would be gorgeous set to music!
I’ll remember this one for all those small boat, strong wind, fierce world times that seem to buffet with increasing regularity.
And perhaps someone needs to do (has done?) a collection of presidents’ favorite poems…
The music is SOMETHING – one of those pieces you just have to close your eyes and relax through as it tone paints the sky and then the turbulence of the waters…
Someone SHOULD do a presidential poem collection, but… I suspect some of the more recent presidents haven’t necessarily cast their thoughts poem-ward. It’d be interesting to see what they came up with, honestly. The only book I could find was a collection of the beloved poems of Jackie O. – which isn’t quite the same – I’ll be interested to see what we get this next go round…