The Asthmatic Man to the Satan That Binds Him + 

Satan, avaunt! + 

Nay, take thine hour, + 

Thou canst not daunt, + 

Thou hast no power; + 

Be welcome to thy nest, + 

Though it be in my breast. + 

Burrow amain; + 

Dig like a mole; + 

Fill every vein + 

With half-burnt coal; + 

Puff the keen dust about, + 

And all to choke me out. + 

Fill music’s ways + 

With creaking cries, + 

That no loud praise + 

May climb the skies; + 

And on my labouring chest + 

Lay mountains of unrest. + 

My slumber steep + 

In dreams of haste, + 

That only sleep, + 

No rest, I taste⁠— + 

With stiflings, rimes of rote, + 

And fingers on my throat. + 

Satan, thy might + 

I do defy; + 

Live core of night + 

I patient lie: + 

A wind comes up the gray + 

Will blow thee clean away. + 

Christ’s angel, Death, + 

All radiant white, + 

With one cold breath + 

Will scare thee quite, + 

And give my lungs an air + 

As fresh as answered prayer. + 

So, Satan, do + 

Thy worst with me + 

Until the True + 

Shall set me free, + 

And end what he began, + 

By making me a man. + 