W.H. Auden | Funeral Blues
I found the following poem today and was immediately drawn to its sense of deep mourning and loss. The verses are composed by W.H. Auden, a 20th century poet born in England and later residing in America. The poem was originally written for a play, but was later developed into a song that was premiered by soprano Hedli Anderson in 1930s. Later, the poem also found its way into the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral. The poem is entitled “Funeral Blues,” and Auden’s opening line creates a powerful image of how all the world seems to stop (or, at least, you want it to) when someone so dear has been lost.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
–W.H. Auden
Tags: Funeral Blues, Hedli Anderson, W.H. Auden
July 13th, 2009 at 3:25 am
This was used in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral