In Which I Impertinently Break My Silence

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

— Auden

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) September 11, 2021

All I have is a voice 

To undo the folded lie,

The romantic lie in the brain 

Of the sensual man-in-the-street 

And the lie of Authority 

Whose buildings grope the sky:

There is no such thing as the State

And no one exists alone;

Hunger allows no choice 

To the citizen or the police;

We must love one another or die.

Auden later pulled this poem from his canon (he wrote several volumes of poetry; he could reprint what he wanted to). He said that last line immediately above was “a lie. We’re going to die anyway.”

He wasn’t wrong. I still like the poem.

Only Auden could bring me to break the day’s resolution.