Darkness of the Mine
after Gerard Manley Hopkins
In the deepdelved darkness of the mine where pickaxes clash and sparks fly the selving soul of stone is bared and all the inscape of its ancient pain
the brinded dust that clings to skin like a badged and begrimed insignia shows forth the toil of those within who delve and dig with sweat and sin
their faces black as the coal they unearth their eyes aglow like embers of mirth yet in their gaze a deep sadness clings like the dark stone that their labor brings
I took the use of archaic and dialectical words, as well as the emphasis on the spiritual and metaphysical implications of the natural world, from Gerard Manley Hopkins, and applied them to a subject that is less typical of his work, the darkness and hardship of mining. I also tried to capture his distinctive use of sprung rhythm and caesuras to create a sense of tension and urgency.