{"id":103859,"date":"2013-02-26T20:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-02-27T01:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/103859\/cpc-pick-apart-poetry-celebrates-w-h-auden-and-love\/"},"modified":"2013-02-26T20:00:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-27T01:00:13","slug":"cpc-pick-apart-poetry-celebrates-w-h-auden-and-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/103859\/cpc-pick-apart-poetry-celebrates-w-h-auden-and-love\/","title":{"rendered":"CPC PICK-APART POETRY CELEBRATES W.H. AUDEN AND LOVE"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to the February 2013 Edition of Pick-Apart Poetry <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

as we continue to celebrate the Month of Love <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by featuring a poem about love written by W.H. Auden <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

who was born in this month of February — February 21, 1907. <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He died on September 29, 1973. <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Auden’s work, both poetry and prose, <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

covers a wide range of topics <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

and reflects many different styles. <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One of his well-known pieces is this “love poem” <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

included in ANOTHER TIME <\/font>which was published in 1940. <\/strong><\/em> <\/font><\/p>\n

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We’re so glad you’ve joined us to celebrate the Month of Love in a Pick-Apart way.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The idea of Pick-Apart Poetry is to select 25 words from the pieces posted <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

and to create poetry of our own. <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The words chosen may be used more than once <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

and tenses and forms may be changed.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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So your poem may have many more than 25 words. <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Please select your 25 words from W.H. Auden’s “Oh Tell Me the Truth About Love.”<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This piece is at the same time humorous, poignant and serious <\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

and is definitely illustrative of the wide range of Auden’s work.<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n


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O TELL ME THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n


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Some say love’s a little boy,
\nAnd some say it’s a bird,
\nSome say it makes the world go around,
\nSome say that’s absurd,
\nAnd when I asked the man next-door,
\nWho looked as if he knew,
\nHis wife got very cross indeed,
\nAnd said it wouldn’t do.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
\nOr the ham in a temperance hotel?
\nDoes its odour remind one of llamas,
\nOr has it a comforting smell?
\nIs it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
\nOr soft as eiderdown fluff?
\nIs it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
\nO tell me the truth about love.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Our history books refer to it
\nIn cryptic little notes,
\nIt’s quite a common topic on
\nThe Transatlantic boats;
\nI’ve found the subject mentioned in
\nAccounts of suicides,
\nAnd even seen it scribbled on
\nThe backs of railway guides.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
\nOr boom like a military band?
\nCould one give a first-rate imitation
\nOn a saw or a Steinway Grand?
\nIs its singing at parties a riot?
\nDoes it only like Classical stuff?
\nWill it stop when one wants to be quiet?
\nO tell me the truth about love.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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I looked inside the summer-house;
\nIt wasn’t over there;
\nI tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
\nAnd Brighton’s bracing air.
\nI don’t know what the blackbird sang,
\nOr what the tulip said;
\nBut it wasn’t in the chicken-run,
\nOr underneath the bed.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Can it pull extraordinary faces?
\nIs it usually sick on a swing?
\nDoes it spend all its time at the races,
\nor fiddling with pieces of string?
\nHas it views of its own about money?
\nDoes it think Patriotism enough?
\nAre its stories vulgar but funny?
\nO tell me the truth about love.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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When it comes, will it come without warning
\nJust as I’m picking my nose?
\nWill it knock on my door in the morning,
\nOr tread in the bus on my toes?
\nWill it come like a change in the weather?
\nWill its greeting be courteous or rough?
\nWill it alter my life altogether?
\nO tell me the truth about love.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

W.H Auden.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Published in ANOTHER TIME – 1940) <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While this poem features a love theme, <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

the poetry we bring back to share isn’t limited <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

to any specific theme or tenor or style. <\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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We welcome all poetry and all styles.<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Our goal is to simply have fun and be creative. <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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It’s always a joy to be here each month with you. <\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Looking forward to what we all create.<\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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~Barbara K and Cherie~<\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the February 2013 Edition of Pick-Apart Poetry as we continue to celebrate the Month of Love by featuring a poem about love written by W.H. Auden who was born in this month of February — February 21, 1907. He died on September 29, 1973. Auden’s work, both poetry and prose, covers a wide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,6,10,21,2,11,29],"tags":[159,5774,4298,5922,5923],"class_list":["post-103859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-friendburst","category-life","category-literature","category-other","category-people","category-poems","tag-cpc","tag-creative-poetry-corral","tag-pick-apart-poetry","tag-w-h-auden","tag-writing-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103859\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}