National Poetry Month

[brigdh]

Last Post by Carol Ann Duffy

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud . . .
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home —
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce — No — Decorum — No — Pro patria mori.
You walk away.

You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too —
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert —
and light a cigarette.
There’s coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.

You lean against a wall,
your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Oh! What a good idea.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked this one!

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

WoW.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I love this one so much.

[silverflight8.livejournal.com]

This poem always kills me. It's building so well off the Owens', which is a feat itself given how astonishing his poem is.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yes! My favorite line of this is the Dulce — No — Decorum — No — Pro patria mori.

[silverflight8.livejournal.com]

YES me too - I love how the line embodies the ideas Owens is fighting against (by calling on a very old quote [time], from a respected culture, etc).

Also, I like the alliteration of "bled bad blood".

It actually occurs to me that the poem is so visual to me partly because I've seen video footage being rewound before - impossible feats seem to be filmed by playing them backwards. When she says "blood runs upwards" I can see it (and I picture it on grainy black and white film). I think it's an image that would not be nearly as vivid if in a culture without film.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Totally agree. Amazing poem.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a really interesting observation! I hadn't even thought of that, but yes, you're right – you need to have seen backwards footage for this poem to be so evocative as it is.