Veronique's Reviews > The Nation's Favourite Poems: Book 1

More poetry :O)
To be fair, most of the ones I read leave me unmoved, but every so often, I find one that really talks to me. All of a sudden, these seemingly random words build a surprisingly powerful meaning. And that is why I’m widening my horizons in this genre, trying to find these little pearls of emotion.

This anthology from the BBC is a pretty good one, quite varied, with ‘classic’ and modern poets represented. Here are two of my favourites, quite different :O)

This Be The Verse, by Philip Larkin
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.


Composed upon Westminster Bridge, by William Wordsworth
Earth has not any thing to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

I actually felt this several times while walking through the capital in the early morning. Love it!