John Donne's Day, 2012

John Donne is a poet whose life and evolution on the spiritual path (courtier,lawyer, and then--wha?--priest, as well as poet) inspire me.

His consciousness of the many dimensions in which we all fall short of our best selves, his trust in God, and his ability to articulate these in verse rightly earned him a feast day in the Anglican cycle, and, in the Episcopal Church, that day is today.

In celebration of Holy Week falling right on the heels of that feast day this year, a Lenten poem by Donne:

A Hymn To God The Father

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.

A blessed Holy Week, everyone!