# Faith and Prayer in Poetry

> Theme guide for Poetry by Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis.

Prayer is presented as a sacred, unassailable refuge for the enslaved, providing spiritual freedom and solace even while bound in physical chains, and affirming divine justice.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Slave Girl's Address to Her Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-slave-girl-s-address-to-her-mother): The slave girl repeatedly urges her mother not to weep, trusting in God as their guardian and deliverer.
- [Prayer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/prayer): The entire poem centers on prayer as a sacred, liberating act that connects the enslaved to the divine and provides temporary relief from suffering.
- [A Mother’s Grief](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/a-mother-s-grief): The mother acknowledges God's sovereignty, stating that He who gave her son has taken him, reflecting a reliance on faith to cope with loss.
- [To the Hibernia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/to-the-hibernia): The speaker invokes God's protection over the voyage, trusting divine guidance in the fight against slavery.
- [The Separation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-separation): The poem invokes faith as a shield and bids God speed to the departing friends, highlighting reliance on divine protection.
- [A Prayer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/a-prayer): The entire poem is a prayer, expressing trust in God's power and mercy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/themes/faith_and_prayer
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_20_se/themes