A Farewell to English

This road is not new.
I am not a maker of new things.
I cannot hew
out of the vacuumcleaner minds
the sense of serving dead kings.

I am nothing new
I am not a lonely mouth
trying to chew
a niche for culture
in the clergy-cluttered south.

But I will not see
great men go down
who walked in rags
from town to town
finding English a necessary sin
the perfect language to sell pigs in.

I have made my choice
and leave with little weeping:
I have come with meagre voice
to court the language of my people.

from 'A Farewell to English' Part Seven by Michael Hartnett

David Morley : 28 Sep 2012 20:00 |  Tags: David Morley Poetry The Practice Of Poetry Warwick Writing Programme |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem