My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
{‘A}ll f{‘e}lled, f{‘e}lled, are {‘a}ll f{‘e}lled;
Of a fresh & following folded rank
Not spared, not one
That dandled a sandalled
Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow & river & wind-wandering weed-winding bank.
O if we but knew what we do
When we delve or hew —
Hack & rack the growing green!
Since country is so tender
To t{‘o}uch, her b{‘e}ing s{‘o} sl{‘e}nder,
That, like this sleek & seeing ball
But a prick will make no eye at all,
Where we, even where we mean
To mend her we end her,
When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
Strokes of havoc unselve
The sweet especial scene,
Rural scene, a rural scene,
Sweet especial rural scene.
(Gerard Manley Hopkins)
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Based on Topics: Beauty Poems, Countries PoemsBased on Keywords: sandalled, ouch, ender, after-comers, wind-wandering, únselve, weed-winding, eing