Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Earth Day: Gerard Manley Hopkins' Pied Beauty



PIED BEAUTY

GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
                      Gerard Manley Hopkins

For some breathtaking photographs of Mother Nature at work, take a look at Ragnar Th. Siggurdson's recent photos of the volcano in Iceland.

I also recommend going to TedTalks.com to look for thought-provoking talks about this amazing planet of ours. Here are a few:
Nature's Designs - Janine Benyus
Underwater Astonishments - David Gallo
Changes in the Sea - Sylvia Earle


8 comments:

  1. Thanks, Andrew. How nice to find you visiting The Drift Record - can't wait to see how you shape the list at Carolrhoda! (and maybe I could get you for an interview someday about book design over at Jacket Knack ?)

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  2. Oh, joy.
    This is just one of my favorite poems. I've tried to memorize it, but it's a tongue-twister and I haven't quite got it yet - but it goes so beautifully with the pictures! Happy Earth Day!

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  3. Thanks, Tanita - same to you!
    Julie
    P.S. This is one of the few poems I've managed to memorize and keep in my head forever. I want it with me if I'm ever stranded on a desert island!

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  4. The image showing the trout is amazing. I also love the landscape image. Thank you for sharing and keep it up!

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  5. Perfect choice for today, Julie, with pictures to prove it. Thanks!

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  6. Lovely, lovely. The day I discovered Gerard Manley Hopkins was the day I began to understand poetry.

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  7. A PERFECT collection of photos for this loveliest of poems! Even if I hadn't seen your post title, I would have known the poem from the images.

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