Beseeching Thee

Dare I to make one small request
From such a hand as Thine
When I have trampled Heaven's best
And drank the sinner's wine?

The folly of my sinful heart
Is never hid from Thee
Thou knowest every secret part
Yet lovest tenderly

Should I reserve from Heaven's own
The best that I can bring?
Nay, yet I bow before Thy throne
With humble offering

Pleasure dies and then the man
And man returns to dust
Thou, my God and Thou alone
Art all that I can trust

Though man is like a fleeting breath
His day like fading grass
Thou wilt keep each one through death
As from this life we pass

Dare I to make one small request
From such a God as Thee?
Nay, but to ask Thy righteousness
To work its will in me

This poem was a finalist in the May 2011 poetry contest