Three Short Poems, par W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden

Three Short Poems

The underground roads

Are, as the dead prefer them,

Always tortuous.

. . .

When he looked the cave in the eye,

Hercules

Had a moment of doubt.

. . .

Leaning out over

The dreadful precipice,

One contemptuous tree.

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Song

Fish in the unruffled lakes Their swarming colors wear, Swans in the winter air A white perfection have, And the great lion walks

September 1, 1939

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade:

Let History Be my Judge

We made all possible preparations, Drew up a list of firms, Constantly revised our calculation… And allotted the farms, Issued all the orders expedient

The Novelist

Encased in talent like a uniform, The rank of every poet is well kno… They can amaze us like a thunderst… Or die so young, or live for years… They can dash forward like hussars…

Victor

Victor was a little baby, Into this world he came; His father took him on his knee an… 'Don’t dishonour the family name.' Victor looked up at his father

Partition

Unbiased at least he was when he a… Having never set eyes on the land… Between two peoples fanatically at… With their different diets and inc… “Time,” they had briefed him in L…

Carry Her Over the Water

Carry her over the water, And set her down under the tree, Where the culvers white all days a… And the winds from every quarter, Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeab…

Never Stronger

Again in conversations Speaking of fear And throwing off reserve The voice is nearer But no clearer

After Reading a Child's Guide to Modern Physics

If all a top physicist knows About the Truth be true, Then, for all the so-and-so’s, Futility and grime, Our common world contains,

We're Late

Clocks cannot tell our time of day For what event to pray Because we have no time, because We have no time until We know what time we fill,

Petition

Sir, no man’s enemy, forgiving all But will his negative inversion, b… Send to us power and light, a sove… Curing the intolerable neural itch… The exhaustion of weaning, the lia…

O Tell Me the Truth About Love

Some say love’s a little boy, And some say it’s a bird, Some say it makes the world go aro… Some say that’s absurd, And when I asked the man next—doo…

Roman Wall Blues

Over the heather the wet wind blow… I’ve lice in my tunic and a cold i… The rain comes pattering out of th… I’m a Wall soldier, I don’t know… The mist creeps over the hard grey…

The Riddle

Underneath the leaves of life, Green on the prodigious tree, In a trance of grief Stand the fallen man and wife: Far away the single stag

A Walk After Dark

A cloudless night like this Can set the spirit soaring: After a tiring day The clockwork spectacle is Impressive in a slightly boring

W. H. Auden