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Patience, hard thing!

By Gerard Manley Hopkins

Topics: classic

Patience, hard thing! the hard thing but to pray,     But bid for, Patience is! Patience who asks     Wants war, wants wounds; weary his times, his tasks;     To do without, take tosses, and obey.     Rare patience roots in these, and, these away,     Nowhere. Natural heart's ivy, Patience masks     Our ruins of wrecked past purpose. There she basks     Purple eyes and seas of liquid leaves all day.     We hear our hearts grate on themselves: it kills     To bruise them dearer. Yet the rebellious wills     Of us we do bid God bend to him even so.     And where is he who more and more distils     Delicious kindness? - He is patient. Patience fills     His crisp combs, and that comes those ways we know.

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"Patience, hard thing! the hard thing but to pray,..."

This evocative piece by Gerard Manley Hopkins, titled "Patience, hard thing!", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:Gerard Manley Hopkins

"Patience, hard thing! the hard thing but to pray,..." by Gerard Manley Hopkins

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Gerard Manley Hopkins

About Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889) was an English Jesuit poet who invented "sprung rhythm," a new metrical system. His poems—including "The Windhover," "Pied Beauty," and "God's Grandeur"—were published posthumously and are now celebrated for their ecstatic language and innovative prosody.

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