unwritten

Sonnet in tetrameter

Unwritten

I bought a new anthology
of poems from the First World War.
I offer no apology
The poetry filled me with awe.

To understand that tragedy
could inspire young poets to write.
Poetry of such great beauty.
To read it is a sacred rite.

I have a strange affinity
with young men cut down in their prime
Who made their mark on history
describing hell in metered rhyme.

I am forced to wonder what
they might have written but could not.

18/05/2009
http:// blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers.

Reviews

[Salvatore Buttaci]

It is good of you to remember in verse those young poets who wrote from the heart of war and died in its fires.

[David Lewis Paget]

The First World War was perhaps the last blossoming of intense poetry relating to man's actual life experience, probably because that experience was so all encompassing, and more often than not was a prelude to a pointless and ignominious death. Wilfred Owen (died), Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, and of course Rupert Brooke (died) were of this company, writing heartfelt pleas that denigrated the futility of war. Anyone who has not read the work of these poets would certainly benefit from the experience, Piers.
The extreme censorship of those days may well have seen some of that poetry blue pencilled out of existence, especially as it emanated from the Western Front. You have raised a valid question there.
David.

[C. Porter]

this is interesting. it gets me thinking about those unwritten poems, too. you did a good job with this.(:

[Austin Smith]

Wow. This hit me deeply. I was never into war books, but this makes them seem interesting.
"I am forced to wonder what
they might have written but could not."
A perfect ending. 5 gold stars for this poem.