Hyacinths to feed thy soul | |||||||
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Name of Work | Hyacinths to feed thy soul | ||||||
Production Date | 1911c | ||||||
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General Notes | The poem is based upon a saying attributed to Mohamed. |
A simple poem, well known and with various different wordings, that expresses a profound truth. An eloquent expression of the biblical 'Man does not live by bread alone', though in the biblical version it meant that one should also live by God's word - a moral or spiritual life not just a physical one.
Beauty is a form of sustenance
Hopeful. Even in poverty one can have beauty.
The overall idea and some of the phrasing are taken from an existing English rendering of the proverb, which is attributed to Mohamed. The poem long ago "went viral," and is widely quoted with a variety of attributions. An early advertisement called it the "Hyacinth Verse," but it also appeared as part one of a two-part poem, "Not by Bread Alone."