The Windhover
Gerard Manley Hopkins - 1844-1889
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.
IMO:
Hopkins, a Jesuit, shares the divinity in every day and everyday things,
similar to the verse in the Heart Sutra "right here is Nirvana".
And I photograph nature, finding beauty in small things, as well as great things (that would be Yosemite)
As I opened my piano music binder (I print out scores ) I noted that many of my favorite pieces are from Russian composers. Russia was once the height of musical creation. China was the height of Buddhist culture, where the Lotus Sutra was translated from Sanskrit and preserved, and America was the great emancipator.
All can surpass their past greatness. And must.
Can great things arise from conflict? Yes.
Wikipedia says:
Hopkins's isolation in 1885 was multiple: a Jesuit distanced from his Anglican family and his homeland, an Englishman teaching in Dublin during a time of political strife, an unpublished poet striving to reconcile his artistic and religious callings.
Today, we should commit to a third emancipation in America.
• Lincoln's emancipation from bondage
• Kennedy and Johnson's emancipation from segregation, and
• Biden and Harris' emancipation of America from racism.
Can we do it? YES WE CAN
The current wave of race hate is like a fever bursting before it dissipates.
This, too shall pass.
Today, I am making a shameless plug for my
Ways to Win in 2022 page,
because it is the path to an age of equality, honor and fairness for all.
https://democraticunderground.com/10113235
And my
Links for Ukraine Humanitarian Relief page,
https://democraticunderground.com/100216497648
A better future starts today.
Sorry, Stuart G, if it looks like I am monopolizing your thread.
You inspired me.
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