Alice Meynell

Messina, 1908

Lord, Thou hast crushed Thy tender ones, o'erthrown
    Thy strong, Thy fair; Thy man thou hast unmanned,
Thy elaborate works unwrought, Thy deeds undone,
    Thy lovely sentiment human plan unplanned;
Destroyer, we have cowered beneath Thine own
    Immediate, unintelligible hand.

Lord, thou hast hastened to retrieve, to heal,
    To feed, to bind, to clothe, to quench the brand,
To prop the ruin, to bless, and to anneal;
    Hast sped Thy ships by sea, Thy trains by land,
Shed pity and tears:—our shattered fingers feel
    Thy mediate and intelligible hand.