Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, GOODNESS, by THOMAS TRAHERNE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

GOODNESS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The bliss of other men is my delight
Last Line: The highest joys his goodness did prepare.
Subject(s): Happiness; Joy; Delight


1

The bliss of other men is my delight
(When once my principles are right):
And every soul which mine doth see
A treasury.
The face of God is goodness unto all,
And while He thousands to His throne doth call,
While millions bathe in pleasures,
And do behold His treasures,
The joys of all
On mine do fall
And even my infinity doth seem
A drop, without them, of a mean esteem.

2

The light which on ten thousand faces shines,
The beams which crown ten thousand vines
With glory and delight, appear
As if they were
Reflected only from them all for me,
That I a greater beauty there might see.
Thus stars do beautify
The azure canopy.
Gilded with rays,
Ten thousand ways
They serve me, while the sun that on them shines
Adorns those stars, and crowns those bleeding vines.

3

Where goodness is within, the soul doth reign.
Goodness the only sovereign!
Goodness delights alone to see
Felicity.
And while the image of His goodness lives
In me, whatever He to any gives
Is my delight and ends
In me in all my friends.
For goodness is
The spring of bliss,
And 'tis the end of all it gives away,
And all it gives it ever doth enjoy.

4

His goodness! Lord, it is His highest glory!
The very grace of all His story!
What other thing can me delight
But the blest sight
Of His eternal goodness? While His love,
His burning love the bliss of all doth prove
While it beyond the ends
Of Heaven and earth extends
And multiplies
Above the skies
His glory, love, and goodness in my sight,
Is for my pleasure made more infinite.

5

The soft and swelling grapes that on their vines
Receive the lively warmth that shines
Upon them, ripen there for me:
Or drink they be
Or meat. The stars salute my pleased sense
With a deriv'd and borrow'd influence,
But better vines do grow,
Far better wines do flow
Above, and while
The sun doth smile
Upon the lilies there, and all things warm,
Their pleasant odours do my spirit charm.

6

Their rich affections me like precious seas
Of nectar and ambrosia please.
Their eyes are stars, or more divine:
And brighter shine.
Their lips are soft and swelling grapes, their tongues
A choir of blessed and harmonious songs.
Their bosoms fraught with love
Are heavens all heavens above,
And being images of God, they are
The highest joys His goodness did prepare.





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