For What I Bless Thee, a prayer-poem by Miriam del Banco (1932)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Miriam del Banco

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1 June 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Maariv Aravim, Yotser Ohr

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English poetry, Prayers as poems, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	For What I Bless Thee
	I bless Thee, O my God, I bless Thee, for the morn— The fragrant, dew-dipped morn; Who comes all blushing from the arms of night, Like some fair bride—so lovely and so bright; Who spangles all the blossoms fair with dew And tints the vaulted skies with palest blue; Who wakes to life and light the powers of earth, And wears a starry jewel at her birth; O, she doth speak of Thee to the forlorn: I bless Thee for the morn.
	I bless Thee, O my God, I bless Thee, for the noon— The golden, sunny noon; When in the field at work the reaper sings While ’mid the corn and poppies bright the wild bee wings; The farmer’s wife, bare-armed and rosy-faced, Doth, at the vine-clad door, survey the sun’s bright trace, And taking from the wall a shining form, Calls to the men at work through echoing horn. O, when the noon is nigh the night comes soon; I bless Thee for the noon.
	I bless Thee, O my God, I bless Thee, for the night— The still and solemn night; When folded in the arms of sleep all nature lies, And peace—sweet peace—doth kiss down tired eyes; When toil and care, and pain and tumult wild Forgotten are by age and youth and child: No eye but Thine its ceaseless vigil keeps, Wrapped in oblivion then creation sleeps; Covered ’neath one great shield are wrong and right; I bless Thee for the night!

The prayer-poem “For What I Bless Thee” by Miriam del Banco (1858-1931) was included in her posthumously published anthology, Poetry and Prose (1932), p. 15. The poem was likely published during her lifetime, but we do not know where or when. If you know, please leave a comment, or contact us. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“For What I Bless Thee, a prayer-poem by Miriam del Banco (1932)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Miriam del Banco

Miriam del Banco (27 June 1858 - 6 November 1931) was a writer, poet, translator, and educator. She was the daughter of Rabbi Max Del Banco (1825-1864), a reform rabbi with a congregation in Evansville, Indiana at the time of his death. Johanna (née Meyer), Miriam's mother, moved to St. Louis and there Miriam began her education in its public schools, displaying remarkable poetic talent. Later she was sent to her uncle at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where she attended the State Normal School. After graduating with honors, she rejoined her mother, who in the mean time had moved to Chicago. There, in 1885, Ms. Del Banco began teaching in the public schools, and from 1889 onward, as the assistant principal at the Von Humboldt School. Later on she served as the principal of the McClellan and Motley schools in Chicago. In 1921, at the age of 63, she earned a PhD from DePaul University. She was a frequent contributor to both the Jewish and general press, having written a large number of poems, both Jewish and secular, and often under the pseudonym, "the Pansy" (after her favorite flower).

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17