Friday, May 25, 2007

Poetry Friday

I finished reading Mike Aquilina's book, Love in the Little Things, Tales of Family Life, the other day. But, between Atticus's surgery and my parents' visit, I've had no time to blog and review.

I will post a complete review soon, but today is not the "soon" of which I speak.

For today, I'll just mention that in one of the loveliest essays in the book, Mike talks about his daughter, Mary Agnes, a poet from her toddler days forward. She reminds me of my little poet, Ramona, who has shared her verse with the world here and here.

Mary Agnes has a poet's soul, to be sure, and her father quotes a few lines from a poem that I absolutely love. I'll expound later on how he uses these lines so effectively in this essay, but for today, I'll simply share the poem with you.

Have a lovely poetry Friday.

(And, if you're wondering just what Poetry Friday is, and how it got started, please visit Susan at Chicken Spaghetti and read her explanation here, which explains how Kelly, at Big A little a, started Poetry Friday.)

And, now ... on to that incredible little poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins:

Spring and Fall
to a young child

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.


Visit A Wrung Sponge for the rest of today's Poetry Friday round-up. She had the brilliant idea of presenting it with a Mr. Linky box, so if you have a post to add, just click on "You're next" and you're in!

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6 comments:

Margaret in Minnesota said...

This is one of my favorite poems! : )

Thank you for all these awesome links, Karen—to the origin of Poetry Friday (I’d been wondering) to Mike Aquilina’s book, which looks great, and oh, to the sweet little book of poetry that you talked about on Tuesday, (Wonderful You) which looks to be right down my own little 4-year-old’s alley!

Have a blessed weekend!

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Wonderful poem! I put your link in this morning. Thanks for the background links here - very helpful!

Anonymous said...

I followed the link to Chicken Spaghetti, but couldn't find the explanation for poetry Friday.

I do love that Hopkins poem.

Karen Edmisten said...

Thanks so much, Melanie! I just fixed it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Karen! You made my jet-lagged day!

Karen Edmisten said...

My pleasure, Mike!