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By Desmond Kon “It is a happy thing that there is no royal road to poetry.” ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins No poet in this country cares for Hopkins, a faraway poet said. But for the sense of the utopian ideal in his Heaven-Haven. But for such an imagined good place-- was it also an epoch, some temporal state of mind, the psychology of the moment? Then emotion more like a fleeting feeling, then fleet of more of the same. Like holy love, heaven-sent. On feast days, beyond holy days of obligation. On Sundays, which are always feast days, didn’t we know? An accent on its significance, without ambiguity like a renewal of vows, forcefulness. Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 106 Therein a gift of the Second Vatican Council: “Hence the Lord's day is the original feast day.” That was, is—will always be—poetry. That statement of truth, reclaimed like an eternal ictus. A fit of awakened memory, seizure, hint, sometimes admonition, and always, expressed intimation for all. Then, flight, as I said once, again. Then, church bells, once and for all. DESMOND Francis Xavier KON Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of an epistolary novel, a quasi-memoir, two lyric essay monographs, four hybrid works, nine poetry collections and a creative guided journal. The former journalist has edited over 25 books and co-produced three audio books, several pro bono for non-profit organisations. Desmond is Senior Lecturer of Creative Writing and Publishing at Nanyang Technological University. He can be found at desmondkon.com.
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