Carrion Comfort Poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Carrion Comfort

Rating: 2.9


Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;
Not untwist -- slack they may be -- these last strands of man
In me {'o}r, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;
Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.
But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me
Thy wring-world right foot rock? lay a lionlimb against me? scan
With darksome devouring eyes my bruis{`e}d bones? and fan,
O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avo{'i}d thee and
flee?

Why? That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.
Nay in all that toil, that coil, since (seems) I kissed the rod,
Hand rather, my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh,
cheer.
Cheer wh{'o}m though? The h{'e}ro whose h{'e}aven-handling fl{'u}ng
me, f{'o}ot tr{'o}d
Me? or m{'e} that f{'o}ught him? O wh{'i}ch one? is it e{'a}ch one? That
n{'i}ght, that y{'e}ar
Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rhonda Brown 24 September 2012

Meggin, don't know if you know this poem or not. Your ugh post made me think of it. It's one I returned to often in the dark first year after my surgeries.

6 0 Reply
da person 08 May 2018

why so many {'o}'s

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The Plinth 09 January 2018

To live your whole life based on a scam: not only that but to know that you are part of that scam

0 0 Reply
Michael Walker 03 December 2016

Very intricate technical poem. Hopkins felt close to despair at times, even though he was a priest.

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Seamus O Brian 03 December 2016

This is a finely-wrought work of art the complexity of which almost distracts from its own literary craftsmanship. This erudite writing reminds me sadly of how wide the gap has become of what our culture chooses for entertainment compared to prior periods.

0 0 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 03 December 2016

Weary! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

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