Pied Beauty: Embracing Imperfection

“Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins praises everything multi-colored, dappled,  and couple-colored. Today I found a gold finch which had struck a window. Its beautiful, mottled body was so delicate. It was a male with a winter coat. I thought of how Hopkins’ poem does not glorify perfection, but rather embraces the imperfect in nature. In fact nature’s beauty lies in those exquisite “finches wings.” I carefully wrapped the small gold finch, said a prayer over it and buried it.

Imperfection is difficult to accept in ourselves. We long for the perfect mind and body, the job that fits our skills, the well-behaved children, the beautiful smile, well-groomed pets, and lots of money. Perfection and imperfection grow up side by side. The exquisite orchid grows out of the dirt. We are shaped both by the “fickle and the freckled” in our lives. Hopkins says look out and see the brinded cow and the landscape plotted and pieced and you will see beauty. Embrace all trades — “their gear and tackle and trim”and you will embrace all of mankind. When we look at ourselves  through these lenses we will see that this beauty is “past change.” Then we will know that the “infirmity” which causes us the most pain, also gives us hope.

In the summer of 2014, I found a family of  kittens and one particular kitten quickly caught my eye. Immediately I embraced this smallest ball of white fur and named her Little Bea. She had an adorable nose with a “Jackson Pollack” splash of brown and black color. When I first saw her she was very feisty –an  “alpha cat.” I knew that she would be mine someday, but I didn’t know when. Both of us were “fickle and freckled.” After caring for her in the wild for several years I adopted Little Bea.  She is the most loving cat and she even enjoys my singing of classical music.  Little Bea affirms that I was on this earth to see the “couple-colored and the dappled.” Praise him.                                                                                                                                

And with this in mind I offer you “Ubi Caritas ” arranged by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo with the English translation below: