Poem of the Day

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Alfred Lord Tennyson - Break Break Break


Break, break, break
On thy cold grey stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

O well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.


I studied this poetry in 5th Form English. It's a rather sad poem, I suppose it's a reflection of the poet's life (which was not always a happy one)
There's this quant cementry overlooking a valley near where I grew up. On one of the headstones, the third verse is quoted. [But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!]
It's quite sad yet romantic - A story of a lost love

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Another of my fav poets, whom I studied at school, is Wilfred Owen.
Whilst the poems have a sad overtone, they give a clear message - war is furtile

Anthem for Doomed Youth
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
-Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.


What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds