Dark Sky, Hamilton, Montana

'I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day'

By Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844–1889

I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.

What hours, O what black hours we have spent

This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!

And more must, in yet longer light's delay.

With witness I speak this. But where I say

Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament

Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent

To dearest him that lives alas! away.

I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decree

Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;

Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.

Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see

The lost are like this, and their scourge to be

As I am mine, their sweating selves; but worse.

 

 

Every new-to-me read of any Gerard Manley Hopkins poetry underscores why my eldest niece so loves his writing. Thanks, A., for the introduction.

 

Barnyard Blue Sky, Missoula, Montana

The farm that hosted my childhood didn't include a huge haybarn like this one, but did include a smaller log barn with a hayloft, most notable in my memory for being the default location for our mouser cat to stash a new litter of kittens. I've long been enamoured of barns restored to living quarters - click here to peruse a beautifully done example.

Barn Storm, Missoula, Montana

^"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" - The Bible, Matthew 6:26, (NIV)

Old Barn No.472, Woodside, Montana

Have I mentioned the beautiful views on the way to my sister's house?
This one is almost a Montana postcard cliche, but I still like it.
I'm drawn to imagine that the original builder of this barn fastened the last shingle, then proudly looked around the homestead he was carving out, seeing only meadows and mountains - not another house for miles and miles, & barely a town on the valley floor.

Homesteader Hope, Missoula, Montana

Irrigation ditches have been the lifeblood for generations in many Montana counties, bringing a coveted resource within reach. In “Prairie Nocturne“, Ivan Doig touches on the importance of these manmade waterways. Since they’re often picturesque, I’ll feature a few in series this week.