Gently Lead Me, Star Divine.

    Gently lead me, Star Divine,
        Lead with bright unchanging ray;
    O'er my lowly pathway shine,
        I shall never lose my way;
    Though uncertain be my tread,
Pitfalls deep, and mountains high,
    Safely shall my feet be led,
        By Thy beacon, in the sky.

    Long ago, while journeying
        Westward, o'er the desert wild,
    Sages sought a promised King
        In the person of a child;
    By Thy bright illuminings,
        To that manger, in the fold,
    Thou did'st lead those shepherd kings;
        Lead me, as Thou lead'st of old.

Alfred Castner King

Alfred Castner King was an American poet. He is recognized for his significant contributions to American poetry. Despite battling with blindness, his disability did not deter him from crafting poetry that captivated many readers. King often wrote about nature and personal experiences, reflecting a deep appreciation for the world around him and the nuances of human emotion.

Alfred Castner King

They Cannot See the Wreaths We Place.

Alfred Castner King, Simple Poetry

The Silvery San Juan.

Alfred Castner King, Simple Poetry

Suggested by a Mountain Eagle.

Alfred Castner King, Simple Poetry

A Reverie.

Alfred Castner King, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

The Star In The East.

O'er the wide world I wander evermore,
    Through wind and weather heedless and alone,
Alike through summer, and through winter hoar,
On cloud-capt mountain, by the sea-wash'd shore,
    Seeking the star that riseth in the East.

O'er the wide world--the world that knows not why,
And stares with stupid scorn to see me go;
Whilst I with solemn secret face pass by,
To laugh in desert spots where none are nigh,
    Laugh loud and shrill unto the winds, Ho! Ho!
    For that which none but I and _it_ do know.

To think how when I find this lucky star,
    And stand beneath it, like the Wise of old,
I shall mount upward on a golden car,
Girt round with glory unto worlds afar,
    While Earth amazed the wonder shall behold,
    That bears me unto happiness...

Walter R. Cassels

A Thought Of The Stars.

I remember once, when a careless child,
I played on the mossy lea;
The stars looked forth in the shadowy west,
And I stole to my mother's knee,

With a handful of stemless violets, wet
With the drops of gathering dew,
And asked of the wonderful points of light
That shone in the distant blue.

She told me of numberless worlds, that rolled
Through the measureless depths above,
Created by infinite might and power,
Supported by infinite love.

She told of a faith that she called divine,
Of a fairer and happier home;
Of hope unsullied by grief or fear,
And a loftier life to come.

She told of seraphs, on wings of light,
That floated from star to star,
And were sometimes sent on a mission high
To a blighted orb afar.

And...

Mary Gardiner Horsford

To Dora

"'A little onward lend thy guiding hand
To these dark steps, a little further on!'"
What trick of memory to 'my' voice hath brought
This mournful iteration? For though Time,
The Conqueror, crowns the Conquered, on this brow
Planting his favourite silver diadem,
Nor he, nor minister of his intent
To run before him hath enrolled me yet,
Though not unmenaced, among those who lean
Upon a living staff, with borrowed sight.
O my own Dora, my beloved child!
Should that day come but hark! the birds salute
The cheerful dawn, brightening for me the east;
For me, thy natural leader, once again
Impatient to conduct thee, not as erst
A tottering infant, with compliant stoop
From flower to flower supported; but to curb
Thy nymph-like step swift-bounding o'er the lawn,<...

William Wordsworth

Her Star.

When the heavens throb and vibrate
All along their silver veins,
To the mellow storm of music
Sweeping o'er the starry trains,
Heard by few, as erst by shepherds
On the far Chaldean plains:

Not the blazing, torch-like planets,
Not the Pleiads wild and free,
Not Arcturus, Mars, Uranus,
Bring the brightest dreams to me;
But I gaze in rapt devotion
On the central star of three.

Central star of three that tingle
In the balmy southern sky;
One above, and one below it,
Dreamily they pale and die,
As two lesser minds might dwindle,
When some great soul, passing by,

Stops, and reads their cherished secrets,
With a calm and godlike air,
Luring all their radiance from them
Leaving a dim twilight there,
Something vague, and...

Charles Sangster

A Hymn - After Reading "Lead, Kindly Light."

Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For oh, my steps are weak,
And ever as I go,
Some soothing sentence speak;

That I may turn my face
Through doubt's obscurity
Toward thine abiding-place,
E'en tho' I cannot see.

For lo, the way is dark;
Through mist and cloud I grope,
Save for that fitful spark,
The little flame of hope.

Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For fear that I may fall;
I know not where to go
Unless I hear thy call.

My fainting soul doth yearn
For thy green hills afar;
So let thy mercy burn--
My greater, guiding star!

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Star of My Heart

    Star of my heart, I follow from afar.
    Sweet Love on high, lead on where shepherds are,
    Where Time is not, and only dreamers are.
    Star from of old, the Magi-Kings are dead
    And a foolish Saxon seeks the manger-bed.
    O lead me to Jehovah's child
    Across this dreamland lone and wild,
    Then will I speak this prayer unsaid,
    And kiss his little haloed head -
    "My star and I, we love thee, little child."

    Except the Christ be born again to-night
    In dreams of all men, saints and sons of shame,
    The world will never see his kingdom bright.
    Stars of all hearts, lead onward thro' the night
    Past death-black deserts, doubts without a name,
    Past hills of pain and mountains of new sin
    To that far sky where my...

Vachel Lindsay