Let me be to Thee as the circling bird
Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844 (Stratford, London) – 1889 (Dublin)
Let me be to Thee as the circling bird,
Or bat with tender and air-crisping wings
That shapes in half-light his departing rings,
From both of whom a changeless note is heard.
I have found my music in a common word,
Trying each pleasurable throat that sings
And every praised sequence of sweet strings,
And know infallibly which I preferred.
The authentic cadence was discovered late
Which ends those only strains that I approve,
And other science all gone out of date
And minor sweetness scarce made mention of:
I have found the dominant of my range and state -
Love, O my God, to call Thee Love and Love.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 145 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBA CXCDCD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 607 |
Words | 112 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"Let me be to Thee as the circling bird" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/15865/let-me-be-to-thee-as-the-circling-bird>.
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