Morning Light on Brick
after Gerard Manley Hopkins
The sun’s insistent finger probes the brickwork rough-hewn, unplaned, the mortar’s dusty seam where lichen clings, a faded fresco, and ivy’s wiry tendrils grasp and cling,
the wall’s dense texture, pocked and worn, invites the light to linger, to explore the intricate topography of stone and clay, and in its cracks and crevices, to pour
its slow, deliberate illumination, like a dark liquid spilled, that seeps and spreads, and as it pools, it gathers, intensifies, until the dull, dun brick is set ablaze
I took from Gerard Manley Hopkins his attention to the intricate details of landscapes and his use of inventive diction to create a sense of urgency and intensity. I applied these elements to a quiet, unremarkable scene to capture the dynamic energy of morning light on old brick.