Inspiring Poems – “Heart in pilgrimage”

I think this is an extraordinary poem.

It has so much depth that I am just going to extract a few of the wonderful metaphors that George Herbert uses, to give you a taste, before linking to the whole poem.

Firstly, the line I used for the title of this post:

“God’s breath in man returning to his birth”

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo’s wonderful fresco capture “God’s breath in man” – the imagined moment of the divine creation of humanity. Humans are seen not as sophisticated animals, but made in the image of God, with the divine gift of breath, with the potential of a divine spark.

And prayer is somehow to “return” this breath to God.

The next image is also startling:

“The soul in paraphrase”

To “paraphrase” is to re-word, or rephrase. How do you put your whole human soul into words? And yet this, according to Herbert, is prayer: our whole being, all of our past, all of our present, all of our future. Our hopes, our hurts, our loves, our dreams.

The third and last image I will comment on is also beautiful:

“Heart in pilgrimage”

“Pilgrimage” is about a journey or a quest. There is a definite goal, which is transcendent. And the journey also may bring as much spiritual enlightenment as the destination.

And prayer involves “the heart”, according to Herbert. It can never be something theoretical, or stay at the level of trivia.

Ultimately prayer involves all of us – breath, soul and heart.

If you have enjoyed these images, there are many more in this amazing, beautiful poem, which you can read here.

• Inspiring Poems and Poets