A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Saturday 6 December 2014

A Culture Is No Better Than Its Woods


More poetry from WH Auden at my poetry discussion site, The Hidden Waterfall.

A well-kempt forest begs Our Lady's grace;
Someone is not disgusted, or at least
Is laying bets upon the human race
Retaining enough decency to last;
The trees encountered on a country stroll
Reveal a lot about a country's soul.

A small grove massacred to the last ash,
An oak with heart-rot, give away the show:
This great society is going to smash;
They cannot fool us with how fast they go,
How much they cost each other and the gods.
A culture is no better than its woods.

WH AUDEN From Woods (the last two stanzas)

1 comment:

The Weaver of Grass said...

Never seen this poem before - one on my list for our next Poetry group.