Welcome back to the Daily Poem, a podcast from Goldberry Studios.

I'm Sean Johnson, and today is Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

Today's poem is by George Herbert, and it's called The Church Floor.

I'll read it once, offer a few comments, and then read it one more time.

The Church Floor

Mark You the Floor more time. The church floor.

Mark you the floor?

That square and speckled stone which looks so firm and strong as patience.

The other black and grave wherewith each one is checkered all along.

Humility.

The gentle rising, which on either hand, leads to the choir above, is confidence. But the sweet cement, which in one sure band, ties the whole frame,

is love and charity. Hither sometimes sin steals and stains the marble neat curious veins but all is cleansed when the marble weeps

sometimes death puffing at the door blows all the dust about the floor but while he thinks to spoil the room he sweeps

blessed be the architect whose art could build so strong in a weak heart.

George Herbert has often classed among the metaphysical poets like John Dunn,

one of his contemporaries. They were both writing

at the height of their powers in the late 1500s, early 1600s, not unlike William Shakespeare.

Truly a watershed moment in the history of English poetical letters.

Nevertheless, George Herbert is sometimes not quite ranked with those other poetic giants of the period.

And I think it's because of his vocational orientation in his poetry.

I mean, that's the best way to say it.

He was a working priest in the Church of England and had a reputation for being very attentive to the care of both the body and soul of his parishioners.

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