Two of the most popular British poets of the twentieth century are Dylan Thomas and Philip Larkin and yet they could not be less alike in style. In many senses, Larkin's restrained writing is a reaction against Thomas' neo-Romanticism. Here Phoebe Warren presents an artful homage to both poets.
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| Philip Larkin |
Dull
day for play, but the children hungrily await
Cramped
over their desks gridded four by six,
Watching
the rhythmic hand jittering on the clock
Until
the bell sounds. The first break time of the day.
Thirty-six
pairs of feet make pursuit,
Criss-crossing
the field in a frenzy of excitement;
Soon
the yellowing grass becomes muddied,
Scorched
with the fragmented screams of glee
The
freedom of play time always fascinates teachers:
They
wisely speculate over steaming coffees,
Gazing
aimlessly at the seeming mania of youth,
Yet
still retain a mysterious yearning to join them again.
But
the lines scolding their faces set them apart
From
the blissfully innocent. Now corrupted, the learned
Can
merely stare at a distance, with an erroneous hope
This
will allow them to reconnect with this dream.
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| Dylan Thomas |
On
the cliff top we stood
Where
our cheeks met the whispers of the wind
Slowly
exhaling onto our skin;
We
paused to inhale the salted air
And
ran freely in tune with the rising sun,
The
golden haze glistening off our bodies
The
rhythmic crashing of the shore line
Rolled
the blue sea upon
The
golden beaches, rising
Up
the white cliffs along the luscious
Green
grass, and we paused,
Admiring
the land around us
And
there was a fence we climbed over
Exploring
the land we knew so well
But
forever finding something new:
A
sunflower shook its golden face
Greeting
us on this very morning
And
we went on our way
Over
the hay bales we skipped
Growing
more confident as we rose
Onto
the highest hill and gazed
Over
the land we had yet to explore
Till
the Sun began to fall
Stumbling
into the land of tomorrow.
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