Windhover

[callmemadam]

Since moving house I see fewer birds around the place than when I lived on the edge of town. Lots of crows, making a racket and I’ve occasionally seen a hawk hovering in the field. Yesterday huskyteer was here; she announced that she could see two enormous birds in a tree. Binoculars were found and she said the mystery bird had ‘great yellow legs’. When it was my turn again one of the birds took flight and whoo-hoo! What a wing span. We now think they were buzzards. Wrong sort of bird but seeing it flying reminded me of

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: sheer plod makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Comments

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

I love that poem so much.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Me too. I'm a great Hopkins admirer.