[1578] The Owl

Guest poem sent in by David Mckay <david.mckay@>

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



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From: Frank O'Shea <foshea@>

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

From: "Matt Chanoff" <mattchanoff@>

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

From: "Firdaus Janoos" <janoos@>

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

From: Ashley Carpenter <ashleycarpenter@>

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