no autograph has been found
In fact, Hopkins seems to have originated his sprung rhythm as a reform of Swinburne's ternary meter by eliminating what he perceived as its quantitative infelicities (Schneider 1968, Kiparsky 1989).
(Hanson and Kiparsky, 1996, p. 300)
Another [presentation piece] is supposed to be the 'Ad Mariam', printed in the 'Stonyhurst Magazine', Feb. '94. This is in five stanzas of eight lines, in direct and competent imitation of Swinburne: no autograph has been found; and, unless Fr. Hopkins's views of poetic form had been provisionally deranged or suspended, the verses can hardly be attributed to him ... nor can I put aside the overruling objection that G. M. H. would not have wished these 'little presentation pieces' to be set among his more serious artistic work. I do not think that they would please any one who is likely to be pleased with this book.
(Bridges, 1918, p. 105)
Wherefore we love thee, wherefore we sing to thee, Where shall we find her, how shall we sing to her, We, all we, thro' the length of our days, Fold our hands round her knees, and cling? The praise of the lips and the hearts of us bring to thee, O that man's heart were as fire and could spring to her, Thee, oh maiden, most worthy of praise; Fire, or the strength of the streams that spring! For lips and hearts they belong to thee For the stars and the winds are unto her Who to us are as dew unto grass and tree, As raiment, as songs of the harp-player; For the fallen rise and the stricken spring to thee, For the risen stars and the fallen cling to her, Thee, May-hope of our darkened ways! And the southwest wind and the west wind sing.
(Hopkins, 1894; Swinburne, 1865)
References
Bridges, R. (Ed.). (1918). Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Humphrey Milford
Hanson, K., & Kiparsky, P. (1996). A Parametric Theory of Poetic Meter. Language, 72 (2), 287–335. https://doi.org/10.2307/416652
Hopkins, G. M. (1894). Ad Mariam. Poetry Nook. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/ad-mariam
Swinburne, A. C. (1865). Atalanta in Calydon. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Atalanta_in_Calydon/Text
