The slate stone slab at Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, commemorates sixteen of the Great War Poets … unveiled on 11 November 1985, the 67th anniversary of the Armistice.
There's an inscription which quotes from Wilfred Owen's “Preface” to his poems:
My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pity.
Poets of the First World War
Memorial in Westminster Abbey
Isaac Rosenberg who died on 1st April 1918 at Fampoux, near Calais, is one of the sixteen poets recorded on the slate.
Rosenberg's self-portrait … he became interested in both poetry and visual art … he has an interesting history – sad, he like so many others, died so young.
Thinking of what these incredible men and women endured for us … their courage … and suffering.
Rosenberg's self-portrait
If … if only … if only … we could respect each other in this world … we are all human … we would live happily together and benefit with this life of ours …
Let's spread peace without destruction of our lives, our culture, our societies …
I list the poets inscribed on the Memorial:
Richard Aldington; Laurence Binyon; Edmund Blunden; Rupert Brooke; Wilfrid Gibson; Robert Graves; Julian Grenfell; Ivor Gurney; David Jones; Robert Nichols; Wilfred Owen; Herbert Read; Isaac Rosenberg; Siegfried Sassoon; Charles Sorley; Edward Thomas.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
5 comments:
Thanks for this, Hilary. The following words of Rupert Brooke, taken so tragically young, are as fine as any ever written in the English language, in my opinion. I doubt that I am alone in feeling this way.
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
I hope you are doing well and that the sombre nature of the moment does not induce too much melancholy. Very best wishes - David
Thanks David - the Rupert Brooke poem is so evocative and as you say I'm sure many of us will remember his words. I can't believe I've written 15 Remembrance posts the first one featuring the Canadian surgeon/poet and soldier John McCrae ... so there's quite a lot of information available on the blog - particularly about Kipling, whose house is near here. It's excellent to read the Rupert Brooke poem here - thank you for writing it out for us.
A day of memories ... quiet, peace and thought for everyone - cheers Hilary
Well said, Hils. It is sad that after all this time on earth, we haven't figured it out.
If only ... it really shouldn't be difficult.
Your last sentence - will we ever get there? It seems further away than ever sometimes.
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