325. The Dying Christian to his Soul by Alexander Pope
b"A Pope read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\\n\\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\\n\\n---------------------------------------------\\n\\nThe Dying Christian to his Soul\\nby Alexander Pope (1688 \\u2013 1744)\\n\\nVital spark of heav'nly flame!\\n Quit, O quit this mortal frame:\\n Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying,\\n O the pain, the bliss of dying!\\nCease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,\\nAnd let me languish into life.\\n Hark! they whisper; angels say,\\n Sister Spirit, come away!\\n What is this absorbs me quite?\\n Steals my senses, shuts my sight,\\nDrowns my spirits, draws my breath?\\nTell me, my soul, can this be death?\\n\\nThe world recedes; it disappears!\\nHeav'n opens on my eyes! my ears\\n With sounds seraphic ring!\\nLend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!\\nO Grave! where is thy victory?\\n O Death! where is thy sting?\\n\\n\\nFirst aired: 19 August 2008\\n\\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\\n\\nReading \\xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2008"