"Overtures to Death", as might be suggested by the title, is not a collection of joyful poems. Even those poems using beautiful nature imagery do so to reflect upon mortality. There is much of war, obliquely and directly, in particular the war against fascism in Spain, and of social injustice. Particularly powerful is the exposure of judicial and cultural hypocrisy in "Sex-Crime", which is still too relevant. Looking up references was educational.
"Black as vermin, crawling in echelon
Beneath the cloud-floor, the bombers come:
The heavy angels, carrying harm in
Their wombs that ache to be rid of death.
This is the seed that grows for ruin,
The iron embryo conceived in fear.
Soon or late its need must be answered
In fear delivered and screeching fire.
Choose between your child and this fatal embryo."
- Bombers
"Infirm and grey
This leaden-hearted day
Drags its lank hours, wishing itself away.
Grey as the skin
Of long-imprisoned men
The sky, and holds a poisoned thought within.
Whether to die,
Or live beneath fear's eye -
Heavily hangs the sentence of this sky."
- February 1936
This recently-acquired 1946 edition still has some uncut pages! It's quite enjoyable to slice them, knowing that after all those years, I'll be the first person to actually read the freed leaves 😊🗡📖
A couple of poetry books by authors I probably should have read already, but haven't. The Heany is a nice clean second-hand edition, the Day-Lewis a little more careworn but, as a 1946 edition, it's in fairly fine fettle for its age. Each priced at £1.50, so it would have been rude not to 😏📚
Overtures to Death and Other Poems | 
