Friday Poetry: Christopher Smart

Christopher Smart
Of the Spiritual Musick

For the spiritual musick is as follows.
For there is the Thunder-Stop, which is the voice of God direct.
For the rest of the Stops are by their rhimes.
For the Trumpet rhimes are sound bound, soar more and the like.
For the Shawm rhimes are lawn fawn moon boon and the like.
For the Harp rhimes are sing ring, string & the like.
For the Cymbal rhimes are bell well toll soul & the like.
For the Flute rhimes are tooth youth suit mute & the like.
For the Dulcimer rhimes are grace place beat heat & the like.
For the Clarinet rhimes are clean seen and the like.
For the Bassoon rhimes are pass, class and the like. God be gracious to Baumgarden.
For the Dulcimer are rather van fan & the like and grace place &c are of the Bassoon.
For beat heat, weep peep &c are of the Pipe.
For every word has its marrow in the English tongue for order and for delight.
For the dissyllables such as able, table &c are the Fiddle rhimes.
For all dissyllables and some trissyllables are Fiddle rhimes.
For the relations of words are sometimes in oppositions.
For the relations of words are according to their distances from the pair.