Virtue

George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)



Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright
The bridal of the earth and sky:
The dew shall weep thy fall tonight,
For thou must die.

Sweet rose, whose hue, angry and brave,
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eyes:
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.

Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie:
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.

Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
LIke seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal.
Then chiefly lives.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

30 sec read
221

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CXCB DBDB EFEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 505
Words 100
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

George Herbert

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

All George Herbert poems | George Herbert Books

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