‘O that I may be
more and more useful
to the souls of my fellow creatures.
I want to be every moment
all life, all zeal, all activity
for God, and ever on the stretch
for closer communion with him.’
A life poured out fully.
Every single
last
drop.
On Monday I’m giving a talk at The Connexion conference on Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon. In my preparation I’ve been struck and struck again by the way she dedicated her whole life to her work. The two opening stanzas are her own words.
See also Poem 327.
(26.10.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Portrait by John Russell, used with permission of Trustees of the Cheshunt Foundation, Westminster College, Cambridge.
Ode for the Day 
And who wrote the last stanza? And why not one for all? What mystery is this, the half written verse? Thanks for sharing such words of joy, and a little mystery too!!
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The last stanza is mine! I set about writing a poem about her sacrificial life, and turned to the words of the first two stanzas which are a quote of hers. I suddenly realised that they were in fact poetry in their own right and just needed formatting as such. The final verse is what I had already written and I felt it worked well to finish it.
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Ok, that is groovy!!! Thanks for the ‘rest of the story’!! 📚
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