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Thursday, October 15, 2015

{copy work} Considering the Snail by Thom Gunn




For those of you who take my online labs, you know I am a fan of copy work. Copy work is an educational idea, used by many homeschoolers, that encourages one to copy quotes, well written and evocative passages and poetry into a journal. The ideas is that by copying, the writer slows down, absorbs the words and style of the writer and connects with the message on a different (deeper?) level. I find it can be as relaxing as a mini meditation. Here is a current favorite poem. Enjoy!

Considering the Snail
by Thom Gunn

The snail pushes through a green
night, for the grass is heavy
with water and meets over
the bright path he makes, where rain
has darkened the earth’s dark. He
moves in a wood of desire,

pale antlers barely stirring
as he hunts. I cannot tell
what power is at work, drenched there
with purpose, knowing nothing.
What is a snail’s fury? All
I think is that if later

I parted the blades above
the tunnel and saw the thin
trail of broken white across
litter, I would never have
imagined the slow passion
to that deliberate progress.


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