Saint Ursula Academy - Scroll Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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This Is Sweet REAMS, they say, usually do come true. Let us hope that if your dreams are any- thing like mine, there are exceptions to this rule. I must have been exceptionally hungry the other night, for after I fell asleep, I found myself walking down the street and passing a barber shop. The red-and-white striped barber's pole was a big peppermint candy stick and all the customers were tiny, little gingerbread men. Coming to a busy intersection, I saw in the middle of the street a chubby marshmallow traffic cop holding an enormous all-day sucker colored green for go and red for stop, Soon, as I walked along the street, flanked on each side with delicious looking candy liousesfexactly like the witch's in Hamel and Grelel-I came to the country where huge cookies in shapes of chickens, horses, cows, and sheep with red candy eyes were grazing in fields of shredded cocoanut. All of a sudden, a tasty angel food cake mountain rose about five hundred feet in front of me. It was built in so many tiers, it seemed to touch the sky. I ran and ran to reach it, but it kept moving away ahead of me. It would move just as I seemed to be close enough to reach out and take a bite, until finally it melted completely into nothingness. With disillusionment I turned into the field and approached a small pond. Its clear waters were so appealing that I decided to cool my tired, aching feet. After I had immersed one foot, I discovered it was a sticky maple syrup lake and the lily pads were round, fat pancakes. I turned back and started for home when a licorice gum drop horse came galloping toward me. He was about to pounce upon and trample me when faithful Big Ben announced in ringing tones the arrival of seven-thirty. SUZANNE HEATLEY '45 The Blind See y HE Armistice signed! Peace once more. Peace, peace, these words keep running through his mind, unbelievable words, Unreal! Unreal to Mike lying on a hos- pital bed, his head swathed in bandages. Too good to be true! Now, after all those horrible months of going through hell-it was like walking from a terrifying nightmare into a living room. How he wanted to jump out of bed and yell-yell at the top of his lungs, but Mike couldn't do this, not without breaking open his wounds. That hand grenade had done a good job. The cheering outside was driving him crazy, if only they'd let him see what was going on, if only they'd let him see. Five days of agony, five days of wondering whether you would live or die. Silence, if only they'd talk instead of that constant whispering. The doctors--what do they know! The wounds were healingg yet, they wanted to operate againg all right let them! Maybe then those hcad-bandages would come off. Once, somewhere in France in the thick of the fighting, he found himself praying to God for help. Now in another crisis, deciding his whole future, he again turned naturally to God for help. The ether had made him groggy. His head felt tightg he touched it. The bandages were gone! He must be dreaming againg but it was true! He opened his eyes. Thank God he could see once more. His heart was filled to over- flowing and the tears found their way to his eyes. He jumped out of bed, threw open the window and yelled, yelled at the top of his lungs. The world was his! BEVERLY I-IOPPIE '45 16 THE SCROLL

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from his retirement a new poet with a new diction, a new form, and a new in- spiration. He then wrote 'Ilia llwierk of lla' lJeffl.IrlIl.uI.l. and although it was his first poem in several years, critics have called It the apex of his work. Its theme is the realization that Christianity is in- tegral and absolute. Ipse, the only one, Christ, King, Head g this line contains the meaning of the entire poem, which is Christ. lt is the story of the Passion and the Redemption reflected in the lives of meng it explains how Christ draws souls to Him through suffering and sacri- fice, heedless of all else but their salva- tion. lt portrays the infinite love of the Crucified, yearning for the return of His love by those beneath the Cross, and it reminds us that submission to Christ is our only true deliverance, The poem closes iII a storm of invocations mount- ing in his majesty of music to the very end. In the Ilwrexi of llve lJc'lll.ltl7lI1I!Ll the poet proclaims the beauty of his vision of the world, seen through a drop of Christ's blood by which everything whatever was turned to scarlet, keeping nevertheless mounted in the scarlet its own color too. New Horizons Indirectly the poem refers to Hopkins himself, 'lille ll recif uf flu' De1ff.I't'lIlt11Itl divided definitely the two periods of Hop- kins' work: between his early verse and his great poetry, between Oxford and the Society of jesus. This new and greater poetry differs from his earlier verse iII far Inore than form and meter. In 'Ilia Il reclf of ilu' lJe.ffl.IrlIl,1ml liather Hop- kins proved that he had advanced to a new vision of the world and of man in which he saw God in all things and all things in God. ln Gmlfi' Giuimlmi' Hopkins proclaims the world of natural beauty as news of Cod. ln its opening lines he represents nature as the reflection of the Creator. This poem shows too the enthusiasm of the lover of nature for the constant ref newal of natural beauty --- daybreak Charged with the grandeur of God. The poet deplores man's use of nature - his failure to employ created things. Truly Gmffi' Gil'.Il1t!L'lll' is representative of Hopkins' great lyric poetry. Nlaisti-I'pIei'e Perhaps the best evaluation of a man's work comes from himself. Hopkins con- sidered 'I'lIe ll imllwI'eI' his masterpiece. He reverently dedicated it to Christ Our Lord. The deep source of his genius is shown in this work coming from the happiness of a soul in sanctifying grace. In the flight of the windhover, the bird doomed to crash in gold vermillionu, Hopkins shows the deep spirituality in which his life was climaxed by his last words, I am so happy, l am so happy! liather Hopkins' devotion was an an- swer to the atheism and the skeptical spirit of an age wavering between a dis- carded religion and a science it feared to accept. To him religion was not a de- partment of lifeg it was its essence. lt is not unusual that his genius was not recognized during his lifetime. That his place among our foremost Catholic poets is established is shown by the excellent eulogies written on the occasion of his centenary. Our Lady ol' l,l'll4'l' Her ctiliu' it lzllfe. Her KQUIPU i.I Irlvile. Her eyes .Ire lrlre. Hel' llfzr .rue liglif. Her lmir ir lll'0It'1l. Her clieelfr till' fair. .Slie Il'L',lI'.l' .I rmII'I1 III lm' l1r.I'lmn.I lmzlr. Slit' l7L'Ill'.l' Illll' lfIl'.IJl'l'.f. Aim' .Inf-,I' llie I.fII'Il. 'lin feel? lllll' lM'tJI'f.f 111 UNL' .Jt'cm'tl. VIRGINIA SAIINII '-ii THE SCROLL 15

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All His Life ITD been walking in this pouring rain lor hours. Wflrat was the matter with him? Dicln't he know right lirom wrong? lt seems, by some strange trick ot' lfate, that our paths are ever clestinecl to cross, he mutterecl to himself. As tar back as I can remem- ber, he's always taken everything l've wanteclf' lim silently reviewecl past in- stances. jim Blaine ancl Don Abbot were both tremendously popular in high school. 'l'hey both playetl football ancl basketball very well. Don hacl a certain charm that was harcl to outshineg jim hacl to aclmit that. But .lim vowetl he woultl knock l7on's block otl ' it' he ever got the chante. Don hacl always seemetl a blus- tering, conceitecl tool to jim. Don glorietl in praise ot' any kincl anil all the girls were liascinatecl by him. liven my own girl, -lim thought. lionnie hail been jim's girl but Don was so charm- ing. Alter that she was Don's girl. 'l'hat wasn't enough but Don hacl to be stupicl too. It' his gracles weren't kept up, he clitln't play football. Xwithout him, the team was weakenetl consiclerably, so .lim was electecl to tutor him, Don clicln't care who he steppecl on as long as he got what he wantetl, Yet, he was so subtle, it drclnt seem like cheating at all. All the elections, all the honors, all ol everything went to Don, with jim just a little behincl. jim was never jealous. lt was just that the methotls Don usecl in obtaining these honors were so uncler- hancletl. ln college the same t'rustrations hacl taken place. All their lives were rel peatecl. jim got the proverbial crumbs from the master's table. Then came the last straw. jim hacl been in love with l'A'riucm KIQNN iam' V15 Nora Barton. 'l'hey were planning to be marrietl when they gracluatecl. Then Don came into Nlora's litie. They elopecl on graduation night, leaving a note with the usual XVe knew you'cl unclerstantlf' jim swore he woulcl never have another thing to do with Don Abbot as long as he hvecl. Ancl now, ten years later, Don hacl walkecl into -lim's law otlice. He was olcler, but still the same charming Don. He hatl been accusecl of bribery. Not too serious a crime, but it woulcl sencl Don to jail for perhaps tive years and ruin his reputation. jim acceptecl the case with but one thought in mincl: he was going to teach Don Abbot a lesson hc-'cl never forget. 'lim hatl thought about it all aliternoon. 'I'his was the chance ol' a lifetime. To think, all his lilie he hacl wantecl just such a chance. But w'hy wasnt it so satisfying? Wfhy clicln't he take such pleasure in it? Wfhat was it that kept running through his mind? turn the other cheek. No, he woultln't think about that. But still - XVl1y I must have walkecl ten miles, jim thought. To his right he noticetl St. Agnes' Church. Wfithout realizing it, his weary steps hacl carrietl him into the uni- versal refuge ot those in distress. As he gazecl upon the figure of the Saviour on the Cross, he startecl. Suclclenly, he though., Suppose He hacl triecl to take revenge on all those who hacl crossetl His path? As he stootl on the steps of the church, he lookecl up. The rain hail ceasecl ancl the sky was clear. So was his mintl. He had to hurry. He had work to clo. He hacl to plan a case no pros ecuting attorney woulcl ever beat, THE SCROLL 17