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The Owl -- Edward Thomas

Guest poem sent in by David Mckay
(Poem #1577) The Owl
 Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved;
 Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof
 Against the North wind; tired, yet so that rest
 Had seemed the sweetest thing under a roof.

 Then at the inn I had food, fire, and rest,
 Knowing how hungry, cold, and tired was I.
 All of the night was quite barred out except
 An owl's cry, a most melancholy cry

 Shaken out long and clear upon the hill,
 No merry note, nor cause of merriment,
 But one telling me plain what I escaped
 And others could not, that night, as in I went.

 And salted was my food, and my repose,
 Salted and sobered, too, by the bird's voice
 Speaking for all who lay under the stars,
 Soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice.
-- Edward Thomas
Here's a holiday poem of sorts. There are a few poems by Edward Thomas on
the website, but not this one. I once read "The Owl" in an anthology and
then lost track of it for years, but every once in a while one of its
well-turned lines would come back to haunt me: "An owl's cry, a most
melancholy cry".

Reading the poem again, I was especially taken with the rich, ambiguous
image of the owl's cry "salting" the narrator's food and repose. Throughout,
the economy of language is exceptional -- consider the phrase "soldiers and
poor", which says all that needs to be said and no more.

Best regards,
David McKay

20 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Frank O'Shea said...

Your owl poem today sent me looking for this beauty which I have on a
recording somewhere. Needs to be read/recited to appreciate it properly. I
don't know much about James T Fields (1817-81) except that he published
many American and British writers and that the publishing house he joined
became Ticknor and Fields, but is now Houghton and Mifflin.

Frank O'Shea

Matt Chanoff said...

Thanks, I really enjoyed this one. My other hobby is long distance bicycle
riding. This poem perfectly describes that feeling of coming in from an epic
ride. It's a feeling of accomplishment, giving way to a certain humility.

Matt Chanoff

Firdaus Janoos said...

What is the context of this poem? Specifically what does he mean by the line
"Soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice" - was this poem written in reference
to a particular war?

-firdaus

Ashley Carpenter said...

its in reference to ww1 and the author is trying to describe how different it is to go from warfare back into civilization.

cheap viagra said...

the owl as poetic theme is so overrated, I don't like this poem at all. but Edward did a great effort, he is is a great author.

Generic Cialis said...

Thomas did not write a great deal of poetry, and he seems less read today than the other poets of his generation - Owen, for example - who wrote fiercer verse grounded in the events of their time. It is true that Thomas's subjects appear small: they are often pastoral scenes in landscapes that are difficult to find in the modern world, at least for most of us, but he also touches deep anxieties and taps elemental springs of beauty; the pastoral instinct will always exist, I think, even if all of the pastures disappear.

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