Friday 26 August 2011

A thought on New York from Rugen island, Germany

After the Thirties


Even Auden came to God in post-war years
And he did quit while we weren't ahead -
Although his Manhattan destination
Was not yet cursed by fiscal deity
And forgiveness can be found for that voice
Which, no more confused than, say, Aquinas
Preached a pretty practical kind of love.
And who not born again can think clearly
About their deficits without some help?
Clarity, he proves, isn't simplicity:
A limo'd abstraction - for poet or banker -
Adds up to a lack of vision, shorting
Opportunities to gain in kindness,
And perhaps the market for such brutal
Compassion is up for the brutal
While compassion needs bailing out, but
After attacks September went viral
Proving a universal gold standard
Which all kinds of people appreciate.