Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Henry Vaughan: a 17th-century England “metaphysical poet”

Best known for his George Herbert-inspired religious poems

  • Christ’s Nativity
  • Awake, glad heart! get up and sing! 
  • It is the birth-day of thy King. 
  • Awake! awake! 
  • The Sun doth shake 
  • Light from his locks, and all the way 
  • Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day. 
  • Awake, awake! hark how th’ wood rings; 
  • Winds whisper, and the busy springs 
  • A concert make; 
  • Awake! awake! 
  • Man is their high-priest, and should rise 
  • To offer up the sacrifice. 
  • I would I were some bird, or star, 
  • Flutt’ring in woods, or lifted far 
  • Above this inn 
  • And road of sin! 
  • Then either star or bird should be 
  • Shining or singing still to thee. 
  • I would I had in my best part 
  • Fit rooms for thee! or that my heart 
  • Were so clean as 
  • Thy manger was! 
  • But I am all filth, and obscene; 
  • Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean.
  • Sweet Jesu! will then. Let no more 
  • This leper haunt and soil thy door! 
  • Cure him, ease him, 
  • O release him! 
  • And let once more, by mystic birth, 
  • The Lord of life be born in earth.
  • The Incarnation, and Passion
  • Lord, when Thou didst Thyself undress, 
  • Laying by Thy robes of glory, 
  • To make us more, Thou wouldst be less, 
  • And becam’st a woful story.
  • To put on clouds instead of light, 
  • And clothe the morning-star with dust, 
  • Was a translation of such height 
  • As, but in Thee, was ne’er express’d.
  • Brave worms and earth! that thus could have 
  • A God enclos’d within your cell, 
  • Your Maker pent up in a grave, 
  • Life lock’d in death, heav’n in a shell!
  • Ah, my dear Lord ! what couldst thou spy 
  • In this impure, rebellious clay, 
  • That made Thee thus resolve to die 
  • For those that kill Thee every day?
  • O what strange wonders could Thee move 
  • To slight Thy precious blood, and breath? 
  • Sure it was love, my Lord! for love 
  • Is only stronger far than death!
Henry Vaughan

Henry Vaughan (1621-1695) was a Welsh poet, and considered one of the “metaphysical poets” of 17th-century England. By trade he worked as a physician, and he is best known for his religious poems – which he began writing after reading the works of a contemporary and fellow-English poet, George Herbert. Vaughan’s style was marked by an ingenious use of monosyllables in his verse, alliteration and, like most of the metaphysical poets of the time, a compelling use of elaborate imagery. Merry Christmas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Remote work = cleaner air for San Diego

Locals working from home went from 8.1 percent to 17.8 percent
  • Christ’s Nativity
  • Awake, glad heart! get up and sing! 
  • It is the birth-day of thy King. 
  • Awake! awake! 
  • The Sun doth shake 
  • Light from his locks, and all the way 
  • Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day. 
  • Awake, awake! hark how th’ wood rings; 
  • Winds whisper, and the busy springs 
  • A concert make; 
  • Awake! awake! 
  • Man is their high-priest, and should rise 
  • To offer up the sacrifice. 
  • I would I were some bird, or star, 
  • Flutt’ring in woods, or lifted far 
  • Above this inn 
  • And road of sin! 
  • Then either star or bird should be 
  • Shining or singing still to thee. 
  • I would I had in my best part 
  • Fit rooms for thee! or that my heart 
  • Were so clean as 
  • Thy manger was! 
  • But I am all filth, and obscene; 
  • Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean.
  • Sweet Jesu! will then. Let no more 
  • This leper haunt and soil thy door! 
  • Cure him, ease him, 
  • O release him! 
  • And let once more, by mystic birth, 
  • The Lord of life be born in earth.
  • The Incarnation, and Passion
  • Lord, when Thou didst Thyself undress, 
  • Laying by Thy robes of glory, 
  • To make us more, Thou wouldst be less, 
  • And becam’st a woful story.
  • To put on clouds instead of light, 
  • And clothe the morning-star with dust, 
  • Was a translation of such height 
  • As, but in Thee, was ne’er express’d.
  • Brave worms and earth! that thus could have 
  • A God enclos’d within your cell, 
  • Your Maker pent up in a grave, 
  • Life lock’d in death, heav’n in a shell!
  • Ah, my dear Lord ! what couldst thou spy 
  • In this impure, rebellious clay, 
  • That made Thee thus resolve to die 
  • For those that kill Thee every day?
  • O what strange wonders could Thee move 
  • To slight Thy precious blood, and breath? 
  • Sure it was love, my Lord! for love 
  • Is only stronger far than death!
Henry Vaughan

Henry Vaughan (1621-1695) was a Welsh poet, and considered one of the “metaphysical poets” of 17th-century England. By trade he worked as a physician, and he is best known for his religious poems – which he began writing after reading the works of a contemporary and fellow-English poet, George Herbert. Vaughan’s style was marked by an ingenious use of monosyllables in his verse, alliteration and, like most of the metaphysical poets of the time, a compelling use of elaborate imagery. Merry Christmas.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Next Article

Pedicab drivers in downtown San Diego miss the music

New rules have led to 50% drop in business
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader