Good Poem for Lenten Reflection
TO KEEP A TRUE LENT.
by Robert HerrickIS this a fast, to keep The larder lean ? And clean From fat of veals and sheep ? Is it to quit the dish Of flesh, yet still To fill The platter high with fish ? Is it to fast an hour, Or ragg’d to go, Or show A downcast look and sour ? No ; ‘tis a fast to dole Thy sheaf of wheat, And meat, Unto the hungry soul. It is to fast from strife, From old debate And hate ; To circumcise thy life. To show a heart grief-rent ; To starve thy sin, Not bin ; And that’s to keep thy Lent.
