A BIRD ON THE WING.
A BIRD ON THE WING. Kirsch quotes the beginning of “The Windhover” as an example of the “thrilling effects” of which Hopkins was capable. Kids, think of trying to describe the thrill of seeing a bird in flight:
“I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy!”
Dr. Bill Forrest was an inspired reader of poetry and he loved Hopkins. So I got to hear this read in a way that made it LIVE. It’s not so much sense, as a sense impression being infused directly into the imagination. Worth the effort of attuning oneself to it.