Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Mary AingeDe Vere

854 God Keep You

GOD keep you, dearest, all this lonely night:

The winds are still,

The moon drops down behind the western hill;

God keep you safely, dearest, till the light.

God keep you then when slumber melts away,

And care and strife

Take up new arms to fret our waking life,

God keep you through the battle of the day.

God keep you. Nay, beloved soul, how vain,

How poor is prayer!

I can but say again, and yet again,

God keep you every time and everywhere.