Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Here’s a musical, rhythmic poem by a Jesuit writer, Gerard Manley Hopkins. His poems are particularly delightful to read aloud so that you can feel the brilliance of his metrics on your tongue. And it even ends with a soul stirring Christological point.

"As Kingfishers Catch Fire, Dragonflies Draw Flame"

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring;
like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves--goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.

Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is--
Chríst--for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

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