Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844-1889
THE WINDHOVER
The Windhover
To Christ our Lord [added later]
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, 5
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 10
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.
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover1.jpg
I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover2.jpg
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover3.jpg
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover4.jpg
dapple-dawn-drawn
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover5.jpg
in his riding/ Of the rolling level underneath him steady air,
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover6.jpg
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover7.jpg
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here / Buckle!
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/Windhover8.jpg
blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.
HURRAHING IN HARVEST
Hurrahing in Harvest
SUMMER ends now; now, barbarous in beauty, the stooks arise
Around; up above, what wind-walks! what lovely behaviour
Of silk-sack clouds! has wilder, wilful-wavier
Meal-drift moulded ever and melted across skies?
I walk, I lift up, I lift up heart, eyes,
Down all that glory in the heavens to glean our Saviour;
And, éyes, heárt, what looks, what lips yet gave you a
Rapturous love’s greeting of realer, of rounder replies?
And the azurous hung hills are his world-wielding shoulder
Majestic—as a stallion stalwart, very-violet-sweet!—
These things, these things were here and but the beholder
Wanting; which two when they once meet,
The heart rears wings bold and bolder
And hurls for him, O half hurls earth for him off under his feet.
SOME IMAGES:
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/HH1.jpg
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/HH2.jpg
SUMMER ends now; now, barbarous in beauty, the stooks arise
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/HH3.jpg
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/HH4.jpg
Around; up above, what wind-walks! what lovely behaviour
Of silk-sack clouds! has wilder, wilful-wavier
Meal-drift moulded ever and melted across skies?
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/Hopkins/HH5.jpg
And the azurous hung hills are his world-wielding shoulder
(image I have chosen is of the "hill country" where I live)
VISIT OF THE AMERICAN VERSION OF THE WINDHOVER TO MY LITTLE RANCH:
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/images/kestrel/
