What Love is this of thine, that Cannot bee
In thine Infinity, O Lord, Confinde,
Unless it in thy very Person see,
Infinity, and Finity Conjoyn'd?
What hath thy Godhead, as not satisfide
Marri'de our Manhood, making it its Bride?Oh, Matchless Love! filling Heaven to the brim!
O're running it: all running o're beside
This World! Nay Overflowing Hell; wherein
For thine Elect, there rose a mighty Tide!
That there our Veans might through thy Person bleed,
To quench those flames, that else would on us feed.Oh! that thy Love might overflow my Heart!
To fire the same with Love: for Love I would.
But oh! my streight'ned Breast! my Lifeless Sparke!
My Fireless Flame! What Chilly Love, and Cold?
In measure small! In Manner Chilly! See.
Lord blow the Coal: Thy Love Enflame in mee.
Andrew thank you for posting this poem: I will have to find more Edward Taylor.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome, Heidi! The interesting thing about his poems, besides the gift he had for exploring such intensely personal meditations in poetic form, is that although he lived from 1642 to 1729, his works were "undiscovered" until they were found by scholar Thomas Johnson in the Yale University library in 1937 and finally published. He is one of America's greatest poets, and was nearly unknown until then.
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