I had never heard of the French poet Francis Jammes, and loved discovering his "Prayer to Enter Paradise with the Donkeys". Jammes lived in the country and wrote religiously-inflected poems at a time when French poetry was dominated by Parisian Symbolists/Modernists. I've found very few English translations of his work. You can see Richard Wilbur, whose translation this is, talk about and recite it here.
...and there
In that haven of souls, let it be that, leaning above
Your divine waters, I shall resemble these donkeys,
Whose humble and sweet poverty will appear
Clear in the clearness of your eternal love.
This past Christmas season reminded me of Thomas Hardy's classic "The Oxen."
I wrote recently about my appreciation of Philip Larkin. Here is his hedgehog poem "The Mower", with its stunning final "While there is still time."
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