“Prayer” by Henry David Thoreau

“Prayer” by Henry David Thoreau is an aa bb rhyme scheme.  He seems to have repetition with “That” in the beginning of many lines, and “I may” also.  There are three stanzas and the first two stanzas have four lines and the last has six.  There is proper punctuation in each line. 

This poem, or better yet a prayer, can mean many different things depending on the person and the situation at hand.  He is saying, “please let me be proud that I have made the right decision, especially when I know I will upset my friends.”  He is asking to be strong during this time in need.  I took it kind of like a teen trying to help a friend.  The friend may be using drugs and the one asking for this strength just found out about it.  This person knows that they would be helping their friend by telling someone to get them help.  But on the other hand, this friend will be angry and possible not want to be friends at all.  The person is caught between friendship and helping someone they care about.  I think that I would tell because I would rather that person be angry with me and never talk to me again than that person be dead or close to it.  They would be able to live their lives, with or without me in it. 

Maybe I percieved this poem incorrectly, but this thought was the first to pop into my head after reading it.  Its almost like those commercials about “Above the Influence”  where the dog says “I want my friend back.”  Even if the person wasn’t your friend for a long time, maybe sometime they will thank you for saving them before they were too far in.