MY heart did heave, and there came forth, O God! By that I knew that thou wast in the grief, To guide and govern it to my relief, Making a scepter of the rod: Hadst thou not had thy part, Sure the unruly sigh had broke my heart. But since thy breath gave me both life and shape, Thou knowst my tallies; and when theres assignd So much breath to a sigh, whats then behinde? Or if some yeares with it escape, The sigh then onely is A gale to bring me sooner to my blisse. Thy life on earth was grief, and thou art still Constant unto it, making it to be A point of honour, now to grieve in me, And in thy members suffer ill. They who lament one crosse, Thou dying dayly, praise thee to thy losse. |
All 5 Affliction Poems. Links for all Affliction poems: "Affliction and Flight in Herberts Poetry: A Note" by P. G. Stanwood |
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