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.
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11 responses so far ↓
1 Lester // May 9, 2005 at 1:44 pm
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.
2 Aron // May 9, 2005 at 5:58 pm
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
3 Gwen // May 10, 2005 at 10:58 pm
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.
4 Aron // May 11, 2005 at 8:45 am
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… ;)
5 Aron // May 11, 2005 at 9:49 am
Oh, and Mike? “Code is poetry.”
You should know that.
6 Evita // May 11, 2005 at 5:49 pm
You coulda gone TO OXFORD?!! What the HECK?!! Bro, we need to talk…I mean come ON!!! ;-)
7 Evita // May 11, 2005 at 5:51 pm
Oh, and 3 cheers for the English majors (and the “almosts”) Hip hip…HOORAY!
8 Aron // May 11, 2005 at 5:59 pm
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!)
9 Campy // May 11, 2005 at 11:09 pm
Ouch…
That’s regret..
10 Shannon // May 14, 2005 at 11:20 pm
Hey stranger,
You and all your talents cease to amaze me!
11 Aron // May 14, 2005 at 11:40 pm
they do? ;)
(by the way, Gerard Manly Hopkins wrote that, not me…)
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