{"id":2761,"date":"2018-09-26T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T04:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2761"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:45:14","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:45:14","slug":"sept-26-g-m-hopkins-the-cagedskylark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2018\/09\/26\/sept-26-g-m-hopkins-the-cagedskylark\/","title":{"rendered":"Sept 26 — G. M. Hopkins — “The Caged\tSkylark”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted on\u00a0November 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday September 26 \u00a0 \u2014 \u00a0\u201cMan\u2019s mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells\u201d<\/p>\n

Sun after an epic deluge reminds me of\u00a0things I love about living in the heart of the Great Lakes, from torrents to an afternoon that invites me to look out my open window and taste the stillness that flows from beauty in the sky. \u00a0Still, we have not\u00a0yet turned the corner of a work week that can wear us ordinary people down, \u00a0 half way into a work week sometimes wears, even grinds. \u00a0 Perhaps that\u2019s what brought G. M. Hopkins to this metaphor: a skylark\u2019s wild explosions of energy and what happens when all that free spirit gets caged — skylark caged, a human being caged, \u201cday-laboring-out life\u2019s age.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cage does not define the lark, nor the daily burdens define the person. \u00a0A reminder: \u00a0it helps when reading Hopkins, to give his word play a practice run until you get the cadences right and until you give his word choices a chance startle your imagination and make you smile.<\/p>\n

Three good surprises today? \u00a0Sure. \u00a0 Have a blest week.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post:\u00a0 \u201cThe Caged Skylark\u201d<\/p>\n

As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage<\/p>\n

Man\u2019s mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells\u2014<\/p>\n

That bird beyond the remembering his free fells;<\/p>\n

This in drudgery, day-labouring-out life\u2019s age.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though aloft on turf or perch or poor low stage,<\/p>\n

Both sing somet\u00edmes the sweetest, sweetest spells,<\/p>\n

Yet both droop deadly s\u00f3metimes in their cells<\/p>\n

Or wring their barriers in bursts of fear or rage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not that the sweet-fowl, song-fowl, needs no rest\u2014<\/p>\n

Why, hear him, hear him babble and drop down to his nest,<\/p>\n

But his own nest, wild nest, no prison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Man\u2019s spirit will be flesh-bound when found at best,<\/p>\n

But uncumbered: meadow-down is not distressed<\/p>\n

For a rainbow footing it nor he for his b\u00f3nes r\u00edsen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

G. M. Hopkins, sj \u00a0 1844-1889<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted on\u00a0November 27, 2017 Wednesday September 26 \u00a0 \u2014 \u00a0\u201cMan\u2019s mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells\u201d Sun after an epic deluge reminds me of\u00a0things I love about living in the heart of the Great Lakes, from torrents to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3160,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/3160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}