Poet Spotlight: Christina Rossetti
Kelly at Big A Little A started “Poetry Friday” not long ago, and I thought it might be fun to feature not just a poem but a poet. This week, I’ve chosen the Victorian poet Christina Rossetti, whose Sing-Song collection has enchanted my children for years.
You can read about Rossetti here.
Read her provocative poem “Goblin Market” here.
Read Sing-Song here.
Here’s one of Beanie’s favorites:
Growing in the vale
By the uplands hilly,
Growing straight and frail,
Lady Daffadowndilly.In a golden crown,
And a scant green gown
While the spring blows chilly,
Lady Daffadown,
Sweet Daffadowndilly.
And, in honor of Good Friday:
Beneath Thy Cross
AM I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood’s slow loss,
And yet not weep?Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon–
I, only I.Yet give not o’er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.
Tags: Christina Rossetti
Alice says:
Beautiful, as always, Lissa, thank you, especially for the Good Friday poem.
On April 13, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Kelly says:
I’m with Beanie. Love the Daffadowndilly poem 🙂
On April 14, 2006 at 6:40 am
Meredith says:
We love Rossetti here too! Thanks for the links she’s our next poet after E. Dickinson!
On April 14, 2006 at 8:13 am
Jared says:
Thank you thank you for posting ‘Beneath Thy Cross’. It’s one of my favoritest poems, and I get chills when I read it.
Thou who didst hang upon a barren tree,
My God, for me;
Tho’ I till now be barren, now at length,
Lord, give me strength
To bring forth fruit to Thee.
(From Long Barren, by Christina Rossetti.)
On April 14, 2006 at 8:20 am