“The Writer”: A Poem by Richard Wilbur

Today I’d like to share with you a poem by Richard Wilbur. If you were around last year on Past Watchful Dragons, you’ll know I shared many of my favorite poems with you then, so we’ll consider today a bonus poem. I found this…

Skyscrapers, Social Media, and Science: C.S. Lewis on “Progress”

Proof number 793 that I’m an old soul: I resonate with a poem that laments the evils of progress…from 100 years ago. On my latest reading of C.S. Lewis’s The Pilgrim’s Regress, I came across this powerhouse of a poem in the last chapter….

In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti

“In the Bleak Midwinter” In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,In the bleak midwinter, long ago. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;Heaven and earth…

“Caterpillar” by Christina Rossetti

Were you a caterpillar kid? I know I was. Growing up in Michigan, I loved finding “wooly worms” in the fall. Their black and orange stripes stood out boldly against the dry, brown leaves, and I couldn’t wait to hold them, coiled up into…

Lord of Late Summer: A Poem by Yours Truly

Happy August, friends! I could have sworn that yesterday was May, but here we are. My late-summer flowers are blooming, the weather is scorching, and the cicadas are simply deafening. I love it! While I’m always sad to say goodbye to my favorite time…

“Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Today I’d like to point you back to a post I wrote four years ago. It’s about one of my favorite poems by my very favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins. In “Pied Beauty,” Hopkins celebrates the dappled variety of creation in language that does…

Masterful Poems: “Pied Beauty”

I don’t know about you, but springtime always draws me to praise the Creator. It must be something in the air (apart from the pollen). Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “Pied Beauty” is a wonderful tool that leads us to praise the Creator of all things dappled.