Each mortal thing does one thing and the same

by Gerard Manley Hopkins


Original Language English

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
     Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
     Selves -- goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came…
     …For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
     To the Father through the features of men's faces.

-- from All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg

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Recommended Books: Gerard Manley Hopkins

Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time



Each mortal thing