Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Holy Sonnet I: Tho Has Made Me

by John Donne

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1Tho has made me, and shall thy work decay?

2Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste;

3I run to death, and death meets me as fast,

4And all my pleasures are like yesterday.

5I dare not move my dim eyes any way,

6Despair behind, and death before doth cast

7Such terror, and my feeble flesh doth waste

8By sin in it, which it towards hell doth weigh.

9Only thou art above, and when towards thee

10By thy leave I can look, I rise again;

11But our old subtle foe so tempteth me

12That not one hour myself I can sustain.

13Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art,

14And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.

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“Holy Sonnet I: Tho Has Made Me” by John Donne — quilloak.com/poems/holy-sonnet-i-tho-has-made-me

Quick facts

Poem: Holy Sonnet I: Tho Has Made Me
Poet: John Donne
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss, Love, Peace

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Shape: 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
Line length: Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

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Author record: John Donne1572–1631
Source record: PoetryDBHoly Sonnet I: Tho Has Made Me by john-donne, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 f6b6dcea820ffaef…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss Love Peace

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