Today in Literature

GRADES 4–5

St. Thomas More — Opening of "Give Me Thy Grace, Good Lord" Tower of London, 1534

The opening lines are short, parallel, and easy to memorize:

Give me thy grace, good Lord, To set the world at naught, To set my mind fast upon thee And not to hang upon the blast of men's mouths. To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly company. Little and little utterly to cast off the world And rid my mind of all the business thereof.

Why it works: Written with a piece of charcoal in the margins of his prayer book. Students who know that will never forget it.

Bl. Robert Southwell — "A Child My Choice" (stanzas 1–2) c. 1590

Let folly praise that fancy loves, I praise and love that child Whose heart no thought, whose tongue no word, Whose hand no deed defiled.

I praise Him most, I love Him best, All praise and love is His; While Him I love, in Him I live, And cannot live amiss.

Why it works: Gentle, song-like, directly about the Christ Child. Perfect for Advent or Christmas. Clear rhyme scheme makes it easy to hold.

GRADES 6–7

St. Thomas More — "Lewis the Lost Lover" (complete) Tower of London, c. 1534 — only 7 lines

Eye-flattering fortune, look thou never so fair, Nor never so pleasantly begin to smile, As though thou wouldst my ruin all repair, During my life thou shalt me not beguile. Trust shall I God, to enter, in a while, His haven of heaven, sure and uniform; Ever after thy calm, look I for a storm.

Why it works: Seven lines — fully memorizable in one sitting. Written the night Cromwell came to his cell to pressure him into taking the Supremacy Oath. When students know that context, every word lands differently. The Fortune theme connects directly to Boethius and classical studies.

Bl. Robert Southwell — "Times Go By Turns" (stanza 1) c. 1590

The lopped tree in time may grow again, Most naked plants renew both fruit and flower; The sorriest wight may find release of pain, The driest soil suck in some moistening shower. Times go by turns, and chances change by course, From foul to fair, from better hap to worse.

Why it works: Written by a man in hiding under sentence of death — which makes the hope in it extraordinary. The natural imagery is vivid. The refrain is memorable. Teaches Providence-rooted hope rather than mere optimism.

GRADE 8

Bl. Robert Southwell — "Look Home" (stanza 1) c. 1590

Retired thoughts enjoy their own delights, As beauty doth in self-beholding eye; Man's mind a mirror is of heavenly sights, A brief wherein all marvels summed lie, Of fairest forms and sweetest shapes the store, Most graceful all, yet thought may grace them more.

Why it works: Denser and more demanding — appropriate for 8th grade. Connects to the classical and Augustinian theme of interiority: our heart is restless until it rests in thee. Strong discussion poem.

Bl. Henry Walpole — Opening of "Why Do I Use My Paper, Ink, and Pen?" Written after witnessing the execution of Bl. Edmund Campion, 1581

Why do I use my paper, ink, and pen, And call my wits to counsel what to say? Such memories were made for mortal men; I speak of saints whose names cannot decay.

Why it works: Walpole was converted to the faith on the spot by watching Campion die — some of his blood fell on Walpole in the crowd. He went home and wrote this poem. He was later martyred himself. The story and the poem together are unforgettable.