Christina Rosseti has fascinated me ever since I discivered she wrote the words to In the Deep Mid Winter. My dad bought me her autobiography and I was amazed at what an ordinary, quiet life she led. No great adventures, no great moments of drama, just a simple life that was at times unbearably lonely. Yet her words are utterly beautiful and tender. She has a depth of understanding of faith that leaves many complicated theological statements looking irrelevant.
In this week's The Tablet they quote some lines of her poetry:
Lord, purge our eyes to see
Within the seed a tree,
Within the glowing egg a bird,
Within the shroud a butterfly.
Till, taught by such we see
Beyond all creatures thee
And hearken to they tender word
And hear its "Fear not; it is I".
If only we could do that we would rediscover something immense behind the ordinary.
Thank you for this, Mary. I also read these words yesterday, but am glad to hear of her autobiography - I must find a copy. She was one of the first poets whose work went into my commonplace book at school many years ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, I have just found your Blog and it is very interesting, I will be following your blog with great interest. The poem here is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyn, I appreciate your comments.
ReplyDeleteMary