I stumbled across mention of Gerard Manley Hopkins. While I do appreciate some of his poems, and recognize his influence, I am not a great fan of his, though, given the possibility he may have suffered from scruples and depression (perhaps bi-polar disorder), gives us something in common.
I don't hate his poetry, mind you, and I really like some of his poems, but he's not a poet I read for pleasure.
But one things I do appreciate about him is his use of alliteration.
One of my first published poems is about the death of John Wayne ("Duke"), and it contains a line about dragon ships "sinking like sunset into the sea."
Not Hopkins-influenced, per se, but I wonder if he would have liked that line.
“Pied Beauty”
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled(who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.
Yeah, maybe he would have, just to be nice!
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