Yaupon Holly Holy

Gary Edward Geraci

 

 

Under the tutelage of Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins

 

Clumps of crimson-bright berries clustered close;

Red to catch the light, red to glow in sight,

And numbered, numbering gross

Winter feasts for feeding fowl on berry:

First feed, take flight,

Return to gorge. More! Most

Moist in juice, the cherry

Hued globes - glut of fuel - and sweet in shell; then flight - high and airy.

 

Would we be so rich in moment,

This shared moment potent,

Fed fully like feathered creatures!

This second excluding no one:

Well in health and playful fun,

Or lost in luck with aching heart.

Wealth is ‘now’: ‘now’ a speeding dart,

‘Now’ a young leader, ‘now’ a truth seeker,

‘Now’ calling himself the Son

Of God.  The descent down meant

Rendering also onto Caesar.

Treasure, time, and talent

This eternal minute is a gallant

And noble Teacher,

A giving Teacher, a rich Teacher;

Sharing NOW, a royal Teacher.

 

Gary Edward Geraci

  • Author: Gary Edward Geraci (Offline Offline)
  • Published: November 14th, 2020 14:26
  • Comment from author about the poem: Employing and enjoying the palimpsest method with Gerard Manley Hopkins as my muse and his “Binsey Poplars” as the container (the structure) to fill with these new words of my own.
  • Category: Reflection
  • Views: 13
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Comments3

  • orchidee

    Good write Gary.
    I'm a bit un-cultured (lol). Erm, I'm rather familiar with the poems of Joe Bloggs, but not Hopkins!
    You have a 'Joe Bloggs' in the U.S.? Or an equivalent to an 'everyman' or 'any old bloke'?

  • Gary Edward Geraci

    Thanks Orchidee, I think William Carlos Williams would fit that bill. I’ll have to look up Joe Bloggs. Does he appear here in the MPS catalogue?

  • Robert Southwick Richmond

    Imitating G.M. Hopkins is death, but you've done about as good as can be done.

    This poem should be presented left-justified, not on MyPoeticSide's default middle-axis. It's a challenge to get this to work, but it can be done.

    See my verses for what you can do with the WordPress word processing function.

    You and I are the only people I've found on MyPoeticSide who use their real names.

    Not sure you can tell it from any of the verses I've posted so far, but I'm an Anglican Catholic.



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