"For all this, nature is never spent."*
As unto urban wastelands sent
Was this poetic English gent
Ourselves are now to parched lands lent,
Absorbing well what Hopkins meant.
I see no British Isles lush~
I look on desert city rush~
Adapting as that orange-breast thrush**
I find my own internal hush.
.jpg "American Robin & Dayblilies")
"There lives the dearest freshness deep-down things,"*
As I admire our flowerings
And still the robin gamely sings.**
"For all this, nature is never spent."
On earth, this comes as form of rent
Until we dwell in Christ's new tent.***
--C. Marie Byars, 2020 (c)
[during covid and unrest times, but not in direct response]
*From Gerard Manley Hopkins', SJ, 1877 poem
God's Grandeur
**A U.S. robin is a type of thrush. Per various field guides, its wide range suggests it's adaptable.
***Tent/tabernacle/dwelling. The Old Testament Tabernacle was a durable, highly ornate tent with a special purpose for worship. There, God's visible presence on earth could be found. In John 1: 14, "The Word [Christ] became flesh and 'tabernacled' among us." The Greek word for 'dwelling' means more literally 'tented.'
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4 comments:
Beautiful and touching. Captures feelings I have when going on my nature/recovery hikes recently. You said it well.
Thanks. Glad you liked it!
It has actually been a period for some healing in nature. I'm glad I'm somewhere a bit more lush - but that means a bit more rain, though it doesn't keep us in often.
Grace be with you.
We have certainly seen some healing here this spring and early summer. Air pollution was way down, and the skies were actually a true blue, rather than a murky brown-blue. We're still hoping and praying for our "monsoon" season. We've had a lot of days over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (over 44 degrees Celsius). Without rain, our ozone goes high, and that triggers my reactive airway disease. (That's something that started from exposure to junk in the Army. I think I've mentioned that before.)
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