Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO THE PRECIOUS MEMORY OF MASTER WILLIAM FENNER, by JOHN HALL (1627-1656)


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO THE PRECIOUS MEMORY OF MASTER WILLIAM FENNER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: How brittle's wretched man! No sooner death
Last Line: Th' hast chang'd thy room, but not thy company.
Alternate Author Name(s): Hall Of Durham, John
Subject(s): Fenner, William (1600-1640)


How brittle's wretched man! No sooner death
Seals up his eyes, and stops his panting breath,
But th' hungry grave devours him, and he must
Return again unto his mother dust;
So frail a thing he is, so doth he pass,
That nothing can remain but that he was.
But thou, triumphant soul! art elevate
By thy vast merits 'bove the common fate;
Those sacred pearls thyself digg'd from among
Thy fiery thoughts, and polish'd with thy tongue,
By thee a second life, that times to come
May say that Rochford had a Chrysostom,
Whose life, told out in minutes, seem'd to be
Nothing but one continued homily;
So even was thy conscience, such a flame
Rais'd thy affections, that thou soon became
Too good for earth; so waking was thy breast,
That Night could never grant a truce to rest;
But now thou rest'st for ever drunk with joys,
That never spend, yet ever new arise.
Yet let thy name still breathe new odours, and
'Mong those angelic spirits numb'red stand,
While we below stand gazing up, and see
Th' hast chang'd thy room, but not thy company.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net