Quote of the Day (Francis Thompson, on How All is Linked ‘By Immortal Power’)

“All things by immortal power,

 Near or far,

 Hiddenly

 To each other are linked are,

 That thou canst not stir a flower

 Without troubling of a star...” —English Catholic poet Francis Thompson (1859–1907), "The Mistress of Vision" (ca.1897)

Thompson’s 182-line ode “The Hound of Heaven” is longer (and, surprisingly, such a favorite of Eugene O’Neill’s that the playwright could recite this ode from memory). But “The Mistress of Vision” has its own fierce, concentrated energy. No wonder that Patricia Schnapp, in a overview of his career, called Thompson “The Poet of the Return to God.” In addition to O’Neill, the likes of Oscar Wilde, G. K. Chesterton, and James Dickey have been inspired by his work.