Do you have a favorite poem?

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“Nets, of silver and gold have we
said Winken, Blinken and Nod.”
Love that poem!
 
The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith. The stanza I remember best -
"And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew
That one small head could carry all it knew "

It reminded me of my father , when I was young , listening to him rattling on about important things.
I was convinced that he must know everything !🤔
Another one I like is ’ The Hound of Heaven’ by Francis Thompson
It paints a beautiful picture of Christ in pursuit of the sinner.
 
Seek not in me the big I capital,
Nor yet the little dotted in me seek.
If I have any “I” in me at all,
'Tis the iota subscript of the Greek.
So small am I as an attention beggar,
The letter you will find me subscript to
Is neither alpha, eta, nor omega,
But upsilon which is the Greek for you.
~ Robert Frost
 
Shakespeare probably, though I love a lot of poets/poetry. I can’t think of any poet I go back to more or get more out of. I am set to read the War of Roses early histories (6 plays) - I wanted to do it during Lent. I started them recently - fantastic. What is odd is I read A Winter’s Tale before that, don’t know why really - late Shakespeare. I love the early histories so much more. I was surprised. Artists don’t always ‘progress’ though I think this is the accepted argument for Shakespeare. I much prefer the histories to the romances.
 
I started with Ciardi and then read Sayers. I especially appreciated her introduction and notes-and thought her reading more attentive to our faith than that of Ciardi. I enjoyed reading various cantos back-to-back and thinking about the author’s differing approaches.
This year I purchased the Seamus Heaney translation for post-Lenten reading. I’ve read some of his poetry and his translation of Beowulf and am looking forward to reading him alongside of Sayers.
 
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I’ve been curious about Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf. Long ago I read the prose translation by David Wright.
 
My fav poems are the ones I write.

But here is one written by someone else.

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue
Code: 
        Lovely Lady dressed in blue-
        Teach me how to pray!
        God was just your little boy,
        Tell me what to say!

        Did you lift Him up, sometimes,
        Gently on your knee?
        Did you sing to Him the way
        Mother does to me?

        Did you hold His hand at night?
        Did you ever try
        Telling stories of the world?
        O! And did He cry?

        Do you really think He cares
        If I tell Him things-
        Little things that happen? And
        Do the Angels' wings

            Make a noise? And can He hear
        Me if I speak low?
        Does He understand me now?
           Tell me- for you know?

            Lovely Lady dressed in blue-
        Teach me how to pray!
        God was just your little boy,
        And you know the way.

  - Mary Dixon Thayer
 
And here is one of my poems which I had published a long time ago.

A Brand New Day

We are all friends
Walking hand in hand
We are the pilgrims
Of a strange yet familiar land

We have survived the storms
That have come our way
We have crossed the threshold
It is a brand new day

What will we do
Who will we see
Will we embrace this opportunity
Or leave it to crash at our feet

We have been given a second chance
To gather, to love
And to share
The dance

Copyright 22 May 2003
 
Here is a NYT review which may whet your appetite.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/02/27/reviews/000227.27shapirt.html

And a London Review of Books commentary

www.theguardian.com

Hasped and hooped and hirpling: Heaney conquers Beowulf

Terry Eagleton on Seamus Heaney's Beowulf
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

I bought the Tolkien translation for myself for Christmas this year.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
Reading the commentary, one can imagine being in seminar with Tolkein. It is a rare treat.
 
I had no idea Tolkien translated Beowulf. This interests me even more than Heaney. Thanks. 😀
 
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Me neither until I tripped over it in the classics section of my bookstore!
“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken…”
(Keats knew how to convey the thrill of discovery)
I couldn’t wait to get it home!
 
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I’ll come listen! (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
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