Sidney Beck Poet Quatrain

Puzzle of Great Poetry

PUZZLE   OF   GREAT   POETRY


My mum liked poems a lot  -  loved  ‘em
She   used to  love “Ozymandius” and was proud 
To read another called  “Abou Ben Adhem”
She would often  read them to me  out loud.

I loved  them,  for their message was blunt
Now I find that I still love  them and admire
The great thoughts of Shelley  and  Hunt. 
And  to be as good a writer I aspire

Or is it  simply  that I was taught
To do what’s right,  never   shrinking 
And to behave  a certain way I  ought?
Such poems now easily fit my way of thinking

Their way  leads to the future brightly :
Poor people treated rightly,    and then
“Nothing beside remains,  ye mighty”              *
“Write me as one that loves his fellow men”      **


Note :
              *       From     OZYMANDIAS     by  Percy  Shelley
              **     From     ABOU  BEN  ADHEM      by Leigh  Hunt

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Carolyn Devonshire December 5, 2010 at 9:55 AM First read Abou Ben Adhem when I was a child, Sydney, and have always loved the poem. Your mother picked some great poetry to share with you. Our perspective on their meanings does change as we get older. Maybe we're seeing the poets' intents more clearly -- that was certainly the case for me with William Blake's The Tiger and the Lamb. Enjoyed this one very much! Love, Carolyn