Our Cries for Peace

Faint falls the gentle voice of prayer,
In the wild sounds that fill the air,
Yet, Lord, we know that voice is heard,
Not less than if Thy throne it stirred.

Not all the darkness of the land
Can hide the lifted eye and hand;
Nor need the clanging conflict cease,
To make Thee hear our cries for peace.

-Henry Timrod (1828-1867)

He was known as The Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Although much of his poetry encouraged enlistment, after experiencing the horrors of war he wrote the hymn from which the verses above were taken.