Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
The Windhover
To Christ our Lord
1I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
2 dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dáwn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
3 Of the rólling level úndernéath him steady áir, & stríding
4High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
5In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
6 As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl & gliding
7 Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
8Stirred for a bird, -- the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
9Brute beauty & valour & act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
10 Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
11Times told lovelier, more dangerous, o my chevalier!
12 No wónder of it: shéer plód makes plóugh down síllion
13Shine, & blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
14 Fall, gáll themsélves, & gásh góld-vermílion.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: The Later Poetic Manuscripts of Gerard Manley Hopkins in Facsimile, ed. Norman H. MacKenzie (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1991): 123. PR 4803 H44A6 1991 Robarts Library
First publication date:
1918
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1996-2000.
Recent editing: 2:2002/3/14
Composition date:
1877
Form: sonnet
Rhyme: aaaaaaaabcbcbc
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