Retreat, The, is a poem written by the Welsh-born religious poet Henry Vaughan. Vaughan is loosely associated with a group of poets known as the Metaphysical poets, who wrote chiefly in the 1600's. The Metaphysical poets used informal language, irregular rhythms, and witty metaphors known as conceits. Vaughan is also recognized as a highly individual poet whose imaginative vision was mystical rather than intellectual. "The Retreat," in which Vaughan expresses his longing to return to the innocence of early childhood, was published in the 1650 collection titled Silex Scintillans (The Glittering Flint, enlarged in 1655).