Affliction (III)

George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)



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 sceptre 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 know'st my tallies; and when there's assigned
So much breath to a sigh, what's then behind?
Or if some years with it escape,
The sigh then only is
A gale to bring me sooner to my bliss.

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 cross,
Thou dying daily, praise thee to thy loss.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

43 sec read
89

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACC DEEDXX FGGFHH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 695
Words 143
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

George Herbert

The Very Reverend Honourable George Herbert was an Anglican priest. more…

All George Herbert poems | George Herbert Books

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