Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SPELT FROM SIBYL'S LEAVES, by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SPELT FROM SIBYL'S LEAVES, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Earnest, earthless, equal, attunable, vaulty, voluminous
Last Line: Thoughts against thoughts in groans grind.
Subject(s): Prophecy & Prophets


EARNEST, earthless, equal, attuneable, vaulty, voluminous, stupendous
Evening strains to be time's vast, ' womb-of-all,
home-of-all, hearse-of-all night.
Her fond yellow hornlight wound to the west, ' her wild
hollow hoarlight hung to the height
Waste; her earliest stars, earl-stars, ' stars principal, overbend us,
Fire-featuring heaven. For earth ' her being has unbound,
her dapple is at an end, as-
tray or aswarm, all throughther, in throngs; ' self in self
steeded and pashed -- quite
Disremembering, dismembering ' all now. Heart, you round me right
With: O Our evening is over us; our night ' whelms, whelms,
and will end us.
Only the beak-leaved boughs dragonish ' damask the
tool-smooth bleak light; black,
Ever so black on it. Our tale, O our oracle! ' Let life,
waned, ah let life wind
Off her once skeined stained veined variety ' upon, all on
two spools; part, pen, pack
Now her all in two flocks, two folds -- black, white; '
right, wrong; reckon but, reck but, mind
But these two; ware of a world where but these ' two tell,
each off the other; of a rack
Where, selfwrung, selfstrung, sheathe- and shelterless, '
thoughts against thoughts in groans grind.






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