soul is constant
a bell whose rope is already pulled
ringing in my ears all day long.
my body is its dog
sticking close, loyal as hell,
but short-lived.
stars are soul
that couldn't be contained
kissing the dark with intention.
one day my body
past all nursing past all curing
will open like an underground silo
and everything
will expand in an instant BOOM
wow, hi, i'm not
an ant, i'm
a piece o' god on fire across the sky--
icarus eat your heart out.
_________
for Word Garden Word List--Gerard Manley Hopkins
Music: Shay Torrent Flying Fiddles
"My body is its dog......loyal as hell, but short-lived" pings my heart. I love the idea of that big boom, and the expansion. Spirit becoming part of the universe. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou were on fire with this one! Yeah, baby, take me there, What's the frequency, Kenneth? Sorry, got carried away. I don't have to tell you how much I love the dogsbody image -- the separation time is painful, but eternity is waiting. 😉
ReplyDelete“ my body is its dog
ReplyDeletesticking close, loyal as hell,
but short-lived. ” - fantastic.
Re-reading this now. Those last two lines. Holy crap.
DeleteFull of such hugeness! Stunning ideas. A big bang of a poem.
ReplyDeleteAs ever you've dealt with Hopkins' heaven in your own particular fashion, full of involving phrases and tantalizingly unusual thoughts. I'd like to think all dogs go to heaven, but my understanding of the cosmos wishes there were more kindness here before its too late, for bodies or souls, to profit much from mere heavenly fire. I especially love "..a bell whose rope is already pulled..," and "...past all nursing past all curing.."
ReplyDeleteYes - This conveys vastness and eternity - "stars are soul
ReplyDeletethat couldn't be contained" - An excellent expanse of magnificence
I love this so much Shay!!! Heaven and soul have never been more beautifully real than right here in this poem!! The second stanza is my favorite!!!
ReplyDelete