Poetry

For this theme the first poem that sprang to mind was Larkin's This Be The Verse, a long time favourite.
But lack of time put paid to that as a blip.
Then i considered Stevie Smith, Adrian Mitchell, and the first poem i ever memorised, which was by William Blake (but i couldn't find a rose!) before finally deciding upon this very simple one.


Anna Wickham 1884-1947

The Fired Pot


In our town, people live in rows.
The only irregular thing in a street is the steeple;
And where that points to, God only knows,
And not the poor disciplined people!

And I have watched the women growing old,
Passionate about pins, and pence, and soap,
Till the heart within my wedded breast grew cold,
And I lost hope.

But a young soldier came to our town,
He spoke his mind most candidly.
He asked me quickly to lie down,
And that was very good for me.

For though I gave him no embrace-
Remembering my duty-
He altered the expression of my face,
And gave me back my beauty.