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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

GENTLENESS – 29 May 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

This poem by Archibald Lampman, the Canadian poet, is unlike any that I have ever read; and there is much truth in it. Do you sense his frustration with the hard-heartedness of this world?

GENTLENESS
Archibald Lampman
(1861-1899)

Blind multitudes that jar confusèdly
At strife, earth's children, will ye never rest
From toils made hateful here, and dawns distressed
With ravelling self-engendered misery?
And will ye never know, till sleep shall see
Your graves, how dreadful and how dark indeed
Are pride, self-will, and blind-voiced anger, greed,
And malice with its subtle cruelty?
How beautiful is gentleness, whose face
Like April sunshine, or the summer rain,
Swells everywhere the buds of generous thought;
So easy, and so sweet it is; its grace
Smoothes out so soon the tangled knots of pain.
Can ye not learn it? will ye not be taught?

For a short biography of Archibald Lampman and his poem “Outlook,” visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/heart/blog-20080528.html 

For a collection of poems and stories by many writers, visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/poetrydir.html

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