In Praise Of Limestone

There is now a third Auden poem at The Hidden Waterfall for comment and discussion . . .

If it form the one landscape that we, the inconstant ones, 

Are consistently homesick for, this is chiefly 

Because it dissolves in water. Mark these rounded slopes 

With their surface fragrance of thyme and, beneath, 

A secret system of caves and conduits; hear the springs 

That spurt out everywhere with a chuckle, 

Each filling a private pool for its fish and carving 

Its own little ravine whose cliffs entertain 

The butterfly and the lizard . . .

WH AUDEN The opening lines of In Praise of Limestone

You can read a good article by Alexander McCall Smith about his love of Auden here.