Poetry

Perhaps it has something to do with us watching General Conference this weekend (Us Africans get to watch it 2 weeks later) and being completely uplifted and edified by the talks given by our humble Prophet President Thomas S. Monson, his counselors and the rest of the Apostles and General Authorities, but I feel inspired by this poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. And let me tell you, I'm not even a major fan of poetry. Give me a book or play or even a boring old flyer and I'll gladly read it. Give me poetry and I will most likely fall asleep from boredom, or feel like ripping out my hair for sheer lack of 'understanding' what the poet is trying to say. Finding all those hidden metaphors sends my brain into a frenzy! But this one...this one I get.

The Windhover

 

To Christ our Lord

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, 

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 

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.

I feel grateful to be alive, to have knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ, to know without a doubt that His teachings are true and that He lives! I am grateful for His atoning sacrifice, without which I wouldn't be feeling so good.

So lesson learned today: even though I have the tedious task of studying this list of 20 poems for my upcoming exam, I can still be inspired.