“O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
May who ne’er hung there.”
There are poets, and then there is Gerard Manley Hopkins.
No worst, there is none
No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,
More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?
My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief-
woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing —
Then lull then leave off. Fury had shrieked “No ling-
ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief”.
O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
May who ne’er hung there. Nor does long our small
Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,
Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all
Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.
Related articles
- A Poem For Sunday (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
- Samuel Menashe obituary (guardian.co.uk)
- prayer (literarylew.wordpress.com)
