News & Views
Poems for These Times: 7
(10 April 2020)
The Dead
by Rupert Brooke
The English poet Rupert Brooke wrote this week’s offering in 1914, after he had enlisted in the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Aged just 27, he died of sepsis in 1915, in Greece, having experienced the harsh realities of war and foreseen the vast numbers of deaths it would bring.
The Dead
These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.
There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter
And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,
Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance
And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.
Poems for These Times
‘Poems for These Times’ is a special collection of poetry offered in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is intended as a way of sustaining us, and to give us something on which to meditate together during these difficult and challenging times.
There will be just one poem each week, so that we can really stay with what is offered. We can read it – perhaps aloud – to ourselves or to any companions in our isolation, and sense the vibrations through our whole being. For poetry has the power to affect us on every level – body, mind, heart and soul. It has a magic, which, in the words of poet Adrienne Rich:
“… goes back very far: the rune; the chant; the incantation; the spell; the kenning; sacred words; the naming of the child; the plant, the insect, the ocean, the configuration of stars, the snow, the sensation in the body… The physical reality of the human voice.”
Of course, not every poem will appeal to everyone – that is inevitable. But there is also the possibility that staying with something that does not immediately appeal can be stimulating and helpful. Experience suggests that sustained attention and contemplation of a poem’s music, words and thoughts can be deeply rewarding.
It would be lovely to share any responses and thoughts you may have through our comments section below.
Barbara Vellacott
Sources (click to close)
Banner image: Manuas, Brazil, the Parque Taruma Cemetery. Aerial view of a new section which has been opened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the foreground, cemetery workers unload one of several coffins from a truck into a shared grave. Photograph: Michael Dantas / AFP via Getty Images.
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Good morning,
Thank you for the stimulating collection of poetry being shared.
Have you seen Tim Addey’s brief lecture on youtube entitled Life Death Life ? he shares some very insightful / beautiful poems on these very matters that matter.
All good wishes.
Charles
Corona ≠2 – 10 May 2020
the Great is in the small things
in the low places
in the barely discernible traces
the leavings and the nothings
where foreheads press the earth
and apples fall
where seeds await the rain
in the deep place of my chest
in the hidden places where
the diamond yearns to shine
and the child that must be born
awakens from this rubble
in this closeness
this so so close aloneness
we do not see
the Greater hiding in the small
We are fighting a spiritual battle.living in times of great deception .some accept an Orwellian dystopian future feeling the state has their interests at heart.
Others(a small but growing percentage) have the 2020 vision to see through the soup
I recommend a poem by Colin Ryan
(When men become truly free). Kevin white
Prayer
Mostly we believe we can put it all back together again
although we may not agree about how this is to be done
since different groups have different visions or beliefs
but mostly we are sure that we can make it work.
We have minds, we have experience
We know what’s going on, we know what to do.
And since there is no underlying sense of purpose we all accept or share
It will be necessary to undergo a power struggle
giving winners the authority to impose their vision
guided by the values they adhere to
be those low or high.
Maybe there’s a missing element in all this.
Maybe there’s another source of guidance
one that’s deeper than policy or ideology or manifesto,
or any product of intellect or research.
Maybe if we stop thinking for a while
stop agreeing, disagreeing, supporting or attacking
staying up-to-date with all that’s going on
maybe if we enter into the solitude
imposed upon so many of us
and find or make the space to pray
that we may all be guided
by the Grace of God that lives within each one of us
then a brighter, better, human future will emerge
one that most of us will joyfully embrace.
This is my belief.
This is my prayer.