Sunday, June 13, 2010

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

by Gerard Manley Hopkins


As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw 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 What I do is me: for that I came.


I say more: the just man justices;

Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —

Christ — 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.


5 comments:

  1. I wondered about that, but I was just excited to have a comment and that it was from you topped it like a cherry! :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing that, Jody. =)

    Now that I understand it better, the poem really reminds me of an old favorite album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. ^_^; The song in particular is "What Child is This?" though it only really makes sense when read in light of the album's story. If a person were curious, it can be found over at: http://www.trans-siberian.com/lyrics_story/lost_xmas_eve_lyrics-08.php

    (The link is to page 8, where the main story itself begins...)

    ^_^

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  3. Lizzy Beth, you make me smile. :) Feel free to delete the excess comments since blogger wouldn't let me.

    Andrew, some generous friend sent me that album along with the book "Dracula" a long time ago... ;) I thought that it was a unique view on Christmas.

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  4. They did? Man, my memory must be going... I was almost sure it was "Christmas Eve & Other Stories"... '_'; I must have had it confused with one I'd traded with one of my friends, Tom... Haha, oh wells... ^_^;

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  5. Maybe Tom was deprived... I have both CDs from the same fellow. ;)

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