"And I have asked to be
Where no storms come,
Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,
And out of the swing of the sea."
In this excerpt Hopkins uses the analogy that the safe haven harbor is to the sailor what heaven is to mankind. The tired sailor narrator begs to be allowed to retire in a place far from the sea. Worn from his years on the ocean, he desires only rest. This is the promise of heaven.
"And a sweet sadness dwelt on everyone;
I knew not why, - but know that sadness dwells
On Mermaids - whether that they ring the knells
Of seamen whelm'd in chasms of the mid-main,
As poets sing; or that it is a pain
To know the dusk depths of the ponderous sea"
In his poem about mermaids, Hopkins muses about the melancholy which seems to abound among them. He wonders if maybe their task of burying drowned sailors is origin of their sadness. Or maybe they know something that nobody else does, based upon their exploration of the deep sea. At any rate, they are beautiful but sad to witness.
"White loom'd my rock, the water gurgling o'er,
Whence oft I watch but see those Mermaids now no more."
The narrator observes with a hint of nostalgia how he can no longer see mermaids. His experience was a rare exception -- a gift. He was rescued by these mermaids, but since he never sees them again he's bound to wonder if he dreamed the entire experience.
"Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is --
Christ -- for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces."
In this excerpt Hopkins describes how he views humanity as an extension of God. He sees God in each of his fellow men. The just man, Hopkins believes, plays the role of Christ so that when someone sees him, he sees Christ.
