"Batter my heart, three-personede God" by: John Donne

In this poem, the speaker is praying directly to God for forgiveness for his sins and betrothal to God's enemy, the devil. When the speaker asks God to "knock, breathe, shine... break, blow, burn," he is asking for all 3 components of the Trinity in order to bring him away from the devil. Through a paradox, the speaker tells God that he wants Him to break him down in order to build him back up. The speaker wants God to break down all of his evil acts. He says "I love you... but am betrothed unto your enemy." Here, the speaker is saying that although he loves God the most, he is most close to and "betrothed" to the devil. He tells God that unless He "ravishes" him, he will never be chaste and free of sin. He wants God to take everything away so that he can follow God and go away from the devil.