{"id":12591,"date":"2026-06-11T15:15:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=12591"},"modified":"2026-06-28T10:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T10:53:25","slug":"pied-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=12591","title":{"rendered":"A Poem of Preserved Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Pied Beauty<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Gerard Manly Hopkins<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0637-300x296.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0637-300x296.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0637-768x757.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0637.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A favourite <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have just finished reading \u201cLandmarks\u201d by Robert MacFarlane. It is a requiem to lost words. The author has tried to slow the slipping away of words particularly words for nature by listing them in his book. The belief is that once you lose a word, you lose a part of the earth and its inherent experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"888\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1-888x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1-888x1024.jpg 888w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1-260x300.jpg 260w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1-768x886.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1-1332x1536.jpg 1332w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0621-1.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 888px) 100vw, 888px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pied Pansies <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The poet Gerard Manly Hopkins is mentioned in \u201cLandmarks\u201d as a person, who through his poetry, preserves words, creates new words and uses common words in uncommon ways. \u201cFreckled\u201d is a favourite. Perhaps not new but in a new combination or sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I remember my father telling me that when I was 5 years old I had described sunlight on a lake as \u201cspreckled.\u201d I too find language limiting and need to invent words  or find other uses for the words we have. Maybe this is why I love poetry. It\u2019s inventive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0616-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0616-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0616-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0616-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0616.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Campfire Rose<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All my examples of couple-colour come from my garden. It is my way of living this poem. It is my landscape, my landmarks \u201cplotted and pieced\u2026.. and pied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0633-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0633-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0633-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0633-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_0633.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pied plots<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Poetry praised. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pied Beauty Gerard Manly Hopkins I have just finished reading \u201cLandmarks\u201d by Robert MacFarlane. It is a requiem to lost words. The author has tried to slow the slipping away of words particularly words for nature by listing them in his book. The belief is that once you lose a word, you lose a part [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12591"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12646,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591\/revisions\/12646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}