Religion
A Feast for Wormes: Section 3
From Divine Poems (1633), A Feast for Wormes
The Pilot thumps on Ionah's brest,
And rowzeth Ionah from his rest:
They all cast Lotts, (being sore afrighted)
The sacred Lott on Ionah lighted.
THe amazed Pilot finding no successe,
(But that the storme grew rather more than lesse,
For all their toilsome paines, and needlesse praiers
Despairing both of life, and goods) repaires
To Ionahs drowsie Cabbin; mainly cals;
Cals Ionah, Ionah; and yet lowder yawles;
Yet Ionah sleepes; and gives a shrug, or two,
And snores, (as greedy sleepers use to doe.)
The wofull Pylot jogs him, (but in vaine.)
(Perchance he dreames an idle word, or twaine)
At length he tugs and puls his heavy coarse,
And thunders on his brest, with all his force:
But (after many yawnes) he did awake him,
And (being both affrighted) thus bespake him:
" Arise, O Sleeper; O arise and ,
" There's not a twiny thred'twixt death, and thee:
" This darkesome place (thou measur'st) is thy grave,
" And sudden Death rides proud on yoder wave;
" Arise, O sleeper, O arise, and pray;
" Perhaps thy God will heare, and not say, Nay:
" Repaire the losse of these our ill spent houres,
" Perchance thy God's more powerfull than ours;
" Heavens hand may cease, and have compassion on us,
" And turne away this mischiefe it hath done us.
The sturdy Saylors (weary of their paine)
Finding their bootlesse labour lost, and vaine,
Forbare their toilesome task and wrought no more,
Expecting Death, for which they lookt before;
They call a parley, and consult together,
They count their sinnes, (accusing one another)
That for his sinne, or his, this ill was wrought:
In fine, they all proove guilty of the fault:
But yet the question was not ended so:
One sayes, 'Twas thine offence; but he sayes, No,
But 'twas for thy sake, that accuses me;
Rsht forth a third (the worser of the three)
And swore it was anothers, which (he hearing)
Deny'd it , and said, 'Twas thine for swearing:
In came a fift, accusing all; (replying
But little else) they all chid him for lying;
One said it was, another said 'twas not:
So all agreed, to stint the strife by Lott:
Then all was whist and all to prayer went;
(For such a bus'nesse a fit complement)
The Lott was cast; t'pleas'd God by Lots to tell,
The Lott was cast; the Lott on Ionah fell,
Cite this poem
MLA
Quarles, Francis. “A Feast for Wormes: Section 3.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/quarles/426/.
Chicago
Quarles, Francis. “A Feast for Wormes: Section 3.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/quarles/426/.
Read this poem with the Codex →