For Your Enjoyment

One of my very favorite poems:

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves – goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is –
Chríst – for Christ plays in ten thousand places.
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his,
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

Hopkins (1844-89) was a poet during the Victorian period. In college, he carefully studied Newman (which shows in his poetry and diary entries). Eventually, he became a Jesuit priest. His inspiration for much of his poetry came from The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The following, for example, is a passage from this work:

"God's utterance of Himself in Himself is God the Word, outside Himself is this world. This world then is word, expression, news of God. Therefore its end, its purpose, its purport, its meaning, is God, and its life or work to name and praise Him." - St. Ignatius

I find that very hard to argue with.