NOT, I’ll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;
Not untwist—slack they may be—these last strands of man
In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;
Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.
(5) But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me
Thy wring-world right foot rock? lay a lionlimb against me? scan
With darksome devouring eyes my bruisèd bones? and fan,
O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid thee and flee?Why? That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.
(10) Nay in all that toil, that coil, since (seems) I kissed the rod,
Hand rather, my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh, chéer.
Cheer whom though? the hero whose heaven-handling flung me, fóot tród
Me? or me that fought him? O which one? is it each one? That night, that year
Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Carrion Comfort, 1918.
gmail.com
Poetry? C’mon dude, show a little respect…
Just busting. I think it’s cool that you’re so well rounded and can go from computer code to poetry in one click. You truly are a geek on many levels…
Have a good one.
Hey pal! Glad to see you drop by!
Don’t knock the poetry, pal – I was a hair’s breadth away from being an English major…!
Miss you man – awesome to hear from you. Stop by often.
Wasabi,
AG
Being an English major isn’t all that wonderful most of the time, at least when you are taking two 20th century lit. classes. You spared yourself.
I think I’m more interested in having been one than in being one (I dread the idea of a 20+ page thesis!). I had the oppotunity to spend a semester at Oxford University at the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies…and passed it up. I know we’re not supposed to have any regrets, but… ;)
Oh, and Mike? “Code is poetry.”
You should know that.
You coulda gone TO OXFORD?!! What the HECK?!! Bro, we need to talk…I mean come ON!!! ;-)
Oh, and 3 cheers for the English majors (and the “almosts”) Hip hip…HOORAY!
Evita: Yes. My advisor was in charge of the program and, my sophomore year, he actually said “We only send 2 per semester. You’re the kind of student we like to send; it wouldn’t be a problem.”
He apparently didn’t realize that I was looking at life through the bottom of a bottle at that point. So yes; instead of a semester at Oxford…I joined a fraternity.
“No regrets”? Um…ok, sure. If you say so. ;)
(PS – welcome to my blog!)
Ouch…
That’s regret..
Hey stranger,
You and all your talents cease to amaze me!
they do? ;)
(by the way, Gerard Manly Hopkins wrote that, not me…)