Great Regulars: When the speaker describes it,

in a moving phrase, as "an unexplained trust I hold", he reminds us of the responsibility to know the past, however difficult it is to decipher. The poet's particular "trust" is to use the fine, penetrative instruments of his art to further the exploration. Poetry is naturally a memorial genre.

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: Poem of the week: 'My Grandmother's Opal' by Grevel Lindop

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The carol says nothing about the physical realities of sex or childbirth. It talks instead of dew, spray, grass, flowers. Perhaps it hints at a contradictory wish for disembodied perfection at the heart of human desire. This dream comes alive in a Mary from courtly romance, in her delicately pastoral conception and blood-free confinement. In remembering the April origins of the December birth, the poet also draws our attention to the entrancing pleasures of the coming spring.

I Sing of a Maiden

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Season's reading: I Sing of a Maiden

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