Friday, March 21, 2008

Poetry Friday - Spring

Spring is here, at least by all accounts of the calendar and in the northern hemisphere! In honor of the season, I share two of my favorite spring poems.
Spring
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Nothing is so beautiful as spring—
   When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
   Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
   The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
   The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.

What is all this juice and all this joy?
   A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden.—Have, get, before it cloy,
   Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
   Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning.

The Enkindled Spring
by D.H. Lawrence

This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes.

I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration
Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze
Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration,
Faces of people streaming across my gaze.

And I, what fountain of fire am I among
This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed
About like a shadow buffeted in the throng
Of flames, a shadow that’s gone astray, and is lost.
The round up this week is being hosted by Elaine at Wild Rose Reader. Please stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared. Before you go, do check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!

8 comments:

  1. Reading the Hopkins poem aloud is very nearly as satisfying as eating good dark chocolate. Thanks for posting it.

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  2. That Hopkins poem- Glory! It gets my blood racing the way he flings words around. Thanks!

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  3. You and I couldn't have picked more different Hopkins poems today, but I'm glad. We need both: Carrion Comfort and Spring.

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  4. Wonderful poems. The Hopkins one is definitely a favorite. Happy Spring!

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  5. Hopkins does it again - Thrush's eggs look little low heavens... The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush/The descending blue...

    And you never think it could cloy, but after the first, I think we all take it just slightly for granted. So, here's to the freshness and the newness -- as soon as it finishes getting here! Happy Spring!

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  6. "What is all this juice and all this joy?"

    Love it! (Although, around here, all this "juice" is resulting in flooding!)

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  7. "Conflagration of green fire"--wow! I'm hereby putting in my two cents towards the Lawrence poem--I'm not familiar with his poetry, only his fiction, so thanks for introducing me!

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  8. wow. stumbled over here from cloudscome's site. i'm with suzanne and cloudscome on the hopkins poem. the things he does with words are transcendent!

    i'll be stopping by here more often. i may even get brave enough to take one of your poetry challenges!

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