Small Proportions
Going over the the publisher’s final edits of my book, I found I had no time to write this week. So I’m letting Ben Johnson do the reflecting for me today.
In a recent conversation with one of my readers (and blogging friends, see the comments for Revolution: a poem), I mentioned old Ben as a poet who has greatly influenced me. The poem below is the main reason why. Old classic style, I know, but with a timeless immediacy that spoke right to my heart when I first read it. (Especially given my shortened life span.) The fleetingness of beauty is an appropriate subject, I think, for this time of year. Enjoy!
It is not growing like a tree
In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night—
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.
Photo by Rafael Zamora on Unsplash
Ben Johnson’s poem found in
A Treasury of Great Poems, compiled by Louis Untermeyer, 1994 edition,
also found here:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/it-is-not-growing-like-a-tree/
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Christina Chase View All
Although crippled by disease, I'm fully alive in love. I write about the terrible beauty and sacred wonder of life, while living with physical disability and severe dependency. A revert to the Catholic faith through atheism, I'm not afraid to ask life's big questions. I explore what it means to be fully human through my weekly blog and have written a book: It's Good to Be Here, published by Sophia Institute Press.
Christina Chase 
Thank you, Christina! That is a poem worth contemplating. And I see you did take time to write, after all! I mean, one good sentence or paragraph is a fair flower. God bless you!
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😀 Thanks for that! Pax Christi
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I love the old style poetry. It speaks to my heart more easily, just as your writings always move my heart and soul.
Blessings and peace to you…
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I’ve been traveling. Drifting too. And trying to curtail screen talk so I can attend better to persons here in my home, my daily rounds, faces I can smile with.. But I looked here just now, and . . . Wow. . . I do understand. This is a poem to treasure. Glad to have re-discovered it (So many from long ago have disappeared from my head. It’s good to have this one back!)
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Yes, best to be with the plants and flowers of light who are near and dear to you, face-to-face. Old Ben would agree. (And you’re welcome for returning a treasure to you!) Peace and blessings, Al!
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