Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Did you know that the poet George Herbert wrote a poem for every day of Lent? You can look at them here:

http://www.ccel.org/h/herbert/temple/LenTreeFrames.html

Today's poem is:

Nature

Full of rebellion, I would die
Or fight, or travel, or deny
That you had ought to do with me.
O tame my heart;
It is your highest art
To captivate strong holds to thee.

If you shall let this venom lurk,
And in suggestions fume and work,
My soul will turn to bubbles straight,
And then by kind
Vanish into a wind,
Making your workmanship deceit.

O smooth my rugged heart, and there
Engrave your rev'rend Law and fear;
Or make a new one, since the old
Is sapless grown,
And a much fitter stone
To hide my dust, than you to hold.

1 comment:

Sørina Higgins said...

Herbert is nearly perfect: a poet of great feeling, large faith, big doubts, sizable insecurities,trust in his own skill but confusion about its value, a master of words--sounds and sense--, a craftsman of faith in and language, faith and language. he takes on the ineffable with courage. He, like dante, understands the difficulties of writing about faith. I am not surprised to find Lent perhaps his most prolific church season. Check out http://iambicadmonit.blogspot.com/2006/05/holy-place.html