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Friday, October 30, 2009

Poetry Friday - Spelt from Sibyl’s Leaves

I'm in today with some Hopkins. For some reason, this one just seemed right for the season. (My apologies for the tiny type. I wanted to preserve the format, but it still didn't work!)
Spelt from Sibyl’s Leaves
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Earnest, earthless, equal, attuneable, ' vaulty, voluminous, … stupendous
Evening strains to be tíme’s vást, ' womb-of-all, home-of-all, hearse-of-all night.
Her fond yellow hornlight wound to the west, ' her wild hollow hoarlight hung to the height
Waste; her earliest stars, earl-stars, ' stárs principal, overbend us,
Fíre-féaturing heaven. For earth ' her being has unbound, her dapple is at an end, as-
tray or aswarm, all throughther, in throngs; ' self ín self steedèd and páshed—qúite
Disremembering, dísmémbering ' áll now. Heart, you round me right
With: Óur évening is over us; óur night ' whélms, whélms, ánd will end us.
Only the beak-leaved boughs dragonish ' damask the tool-smooth bleak light; black,
Ever so black on it. Óur tale, O óur oracle! ' Lét life, wáned, ah lét life wind
Off hér once skéined stained véined variety ' upon, áll on twó spools; párt, pen, páck
Now her áll in twó flocks, twó folds—black, white; ' right, wrong; reckon but, reck but, mind
But thése two; wáre of a wórld where bút these ' twó tell, each off the óther; of a rack
Where, selfwrung, selfstrung, sheathe- and shelterless, ' thóughts agaínst thoughts ín groans grínd.
The round up is being hosted by Jennie of Biblio File. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

3 comments:

  1. A difficult poem, but a great one for fall. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Glorious! You know, if I had three wishes (we all know that one of the wishes woudl be to get three more wishes, right?) one of them would be to hear Hopkins - and Whitman, come to think of it - read their poetry aloud. Wouldn't that be brilliant?

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  3. Also, I wanted to mention I did the "old school" style of roundup just because of what was talked about at our kidlitcon panel.

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