Charlotte
watercolor
4.5” x 6”
All creatures great and small, did God make them all?
Do the lines from the poem (turned hymn, book title and eventual television series) give us pause, when viewed through the lens of our time?
Do we value all things as bright and beautiful or fear when postmodernity questions them at all?
*Incidentally and of note, lines of the original poem (which are included below) are most often omitted today, especially when considered through the devastation and horrors of the Irish potato famine of the mid 1850s in which they were written. That in itself is a form of commentary to me.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
by Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them high and lowly,
And ordered their estate.*The purple headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;−The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,−
He made them every one.The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
We gather every day;−He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who hath made all things well.