No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

#OnThisDay 1615: Metaphysical poet and future Dean of St Paul’s, John Donne, was ordained.

This bust of Donne was unveiled in 2012. The statue of him inside St Paul’s is the only one to survive the Great Fire of London intact.

Categories: Poetry