Me and This Morning

I am sick and tired of the news.

Every morning, I make the mistake of watching the news. That habit has been going on for decades. As everyone knows, the news has been horrible in recent years. However, this morning, I came upon this beautiful poem about beauty, and it really helped me feel better. So, I am presenting it instead of what I intended to write. I will put that off until tomorrow and present this in the hope that it will help all of you feel better. The poem is entitled “To Beauty.”

To Beauty,

by Anna Hempstead Branch

I would not have thee far away

By whom I must be led.

I needs must have thee every day

To be my meat and bread.

For if there be unlovely things

Wherein no radiance glows,

I'll kiss them till their folded wings

Shall blossom like the rose!

Oh, be thou beautiful, I'll say,—

And save me with delight!

Then each dark thing will smile like day

Between me and the night.

I'll listen till I make them speak,

By need will make them wise!

As love calls blushes to the cheek

Or laughter to the eyes.

For where love lays its trusting kiss

There Beauty needs must be

And so I'll turn the world to bliss

Until it shines like thee.

"To Beauty" by Anna Hempstead Branch is a thoughtful reflection on the nature of beauty and what it leaves imprinted on the human experience. It addresses the eternal and transcendental qualities of beauty in something holy. The language within this poem is very lyrical and descriptive. It uses vivid imagery such as 'the golden sunsets that paint the sky' and 'the soft petals of a blooming rose' to experience sensations vicariously through the senses.

The poem opens with beauty being treated as a muse of creativity and elevation. Branch gives Beauty personal attributes in his creation as a force that can raise amazement and set off the fire of creation. Branch gives personal attributes to beauty, pointing out that beauty is a living presence that an individual relates to on a very personal plane. Beauty is both ethereal and tangible, Branch explains. She relates it to being transcendental to the material world while still manifesting in the forms of the natural world and human creation. That beauty in truth belongs not to the material world but is a spark of divine and eternal reality, which explains this duality. Beauty is that which leads man to a connection to the power far above him, something that is at the same time spiritual and transformational.

Throughout the poem, Beauty is held continuously in reverence and awe. Branch's tone is almost worshipful, reflecting the profound impact of beauty on the human soul. She portrays Beauty as a guiding light towards enlightenment and inner growth, a force that inspires awe and reverence. This depiction almost elevates beauty to a moral or philosophical dimension, as if it were a beacon illuminating higher truths and deeper understanding. This emphasis on the reverence for beauty underscores its significance and power in our lives.

The images in the poem are rich and varied, full of drawings of natural elements such as 'the gentle sway of a tree in the wind' and 'the vibrant colors of a sunset' and their expression in art. The descriptive aspects that Branch has given the poem are alive and sensory, urging the reader to see, hear, and feel. This calls the reader into action with the senses. It has been determined that beauty is a part of necessity and is something that the soul can begin to interact with, live with, and pursue even during times in life that are pretty hard.

Indeed, Branch's poem "To Beauty" is a tribute to the power of beauty. As a living, dynamic force, it evokes, elevates, and connects one to the divine. Thereby, Branch leaves a relatable essence of beauty and its profound effects on the human soul in lyrical language and highly evocative imagery, leading the reader into thought on deep meanings in beauty.