How to kéep - is there ány any, is there
none such, nowhere
known some, bow or
brooch or braid or brace, láce latch
or catch or key to keep
Back beauty, keep it, beauty, beauty, beauty, . . . from vanishing
away?
Ó is there
no frowning of these wrinkles, rankèd wrinkles deep,
Dówn? no
waving off of these most mournful messengers, still
messengers, sad and stealing messengers of grey?
No there's none, there's none, O no there's none,
Nor can you long be, what you now are, called fair,
Do what you may do, what, do what you may,
And
wisdom is early to despair:
Be beginning; since, no, nothing can be done
To keep at bay
Age and
age's evils, hoar hair,
Ruck and wrinkle, drooping, dying, death's worst, winding sheets,
tombs and worms and
tumbling to decay;
So be beginning, be beginning to despair,
O there's none; no no no there's none:
Be beginning to despair, to despair,
Despair, despair, despair,
despair.
-
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)