A month of poets: today, Gerard Manley Hopkins

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I’ll feature a poem here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in April.  Any reflections on today’s selection?

“Pied Beauty”
from Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Works

Glory be to God for dappled things–
   For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
      For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
   Landscape plotted and pieced–fold, fallow, and plough;
      And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
   Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
      With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
                                                 Praise Him.

27. April 2009 by Mindy
Categories: Poetry | 3 comments

Comments (3)