The Mind

No worst, there is none

by Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844–1889

From Poems (1918)

The Mind

No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,
More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?
My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief
Woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing--
Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked 'No ling-
ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief'.

O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
May who ne'er hung there. Nor does long our small
Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,
Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all
Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.

MLA

Hopkins, Gerard Manley. “No worst, there is none.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hopkins/40/.

Chicago

Hopkins, Gerard Manley. “No worst, there is none.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hopkins/40/.

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