Our final Poem of the Day is chosen and introduced by Headmistress, Mrs Elphinstone.
Our anthology blossomed in a global pandemic. In the UK, we have endured months of lockdown, fear and uncertainty. In our School, we have endeavoured to dig deep, discover our roots, and try to grow in the most hostile of environments.
Right at the start we approached the peak of the virus devastation just as the most glorious Spring in memory blossomed beyond our prison bars. At that time, I sent this poem to the School community along with a photo of a beautiful hyacinth flowering in my garden flowering as if to show that when all around is death and destruction, new life can still spring forth.
If thou of fortune be bereft
And of thy earthly store have only left
Two loaves, sell one, and with the gold
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.
John Greenleaf Whittier
One of my many faults is using too many words. And we have heard many words in past weeks, some of them angry and damaging. I prefer words which build up rather than those which tear down. This poem is wonderfully brief yet says so much. At such a time of anxiety and grief, it was a symbol of hope. Often attributed to an ancient Persian poet (perhaps truthfully), it has more often been said to have been penned by John Greenleaf Whittier, an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Whittier was strongly influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Highly regarded in his lifetime and for a period thereafter, he is now remembered for the words of the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, from his poem The Brewing of Soma, sung to music by Hubert Parry.
I love the fact that this poet drew on some of the ideas most beloved to me: social justice, Robert Burns and worship, composing one of our favourite hymns. The poem encapsulates all I have tried to teach our community during my time as headmistress: when you think you have nothing left to give, give more. In doing so you will find joy you never imagine.
