Howdy

I'm getting a little sparse with the posts here. But these seem to be keeping me going. Another Monday, another poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Today we've got an untitled poem known by its first line, "my own heart let me more have pity on; let"

MY own heart let me more have pity on; let
Me live to my sad self hereafter kind,
Charitable; not live this tormented mind
With this tormented mind tormenting yet.
I cast for comfort I can no more get
By groping round my comfortless, than blind
Eyes in their dark can day or thirst can find
Thirst’s all-in-all in all a world of wet.

Soul, self; come, poor Jackself, I do advise
You, jaded, let be; call off thoughts awhile
Elsewhere; leave comfort root-room; let joy size
At God knows when to God knows what; whose smile
’s not wrung, see you; unforeseen times rather—as skies
Betweenpie mountains—lights a lovely mile.

There is a very important thing to know about my relationship with GMH: half the time i have very foggy grasp of what the hell it is he's on about. But that doesn't bother me because it's at least as much about the way it sounds as it is about the imagery & the existence or lack of any sort of narrative elements. One thing i love about this poem in particular is the enjambment. I don't think i've seen any other poem where the possessive s falls on the other side of the line break from where the word it's attached to is.

And, okay, even with it being so elusive and difficult to grasp, there's something really poignant about the whole second stanza. I love how the speaker goes from this despairing language to a sort of sad hopefulness. And there's something about the idea that you can get pretty low but you just need to try to lay off the nasty thoughts and give yourself a little space, a little root-room, so that some sort of joy can come around. & it's not really up to you when that joy's going to come anyway.

also, how can you not love the phrase "betweenpie mountains" ?? Not because it's so perfect but because the words sound so good and yet don't really semantically mesh. at all. (hoo boy, that was a long one. sorry, folks.)