Housman, A E

Stars, I have seen them fall,
But when they drop and die
No star is lost at all
From all the star-sown sky.
The toil of all that be
Helps not the primal fault;
It rains into the sea,
And still the sea is salt.

This is perhaps my favorite Housman lyric. Astringent and ruthlessly constrained in form.

That is all I have for today. Elsewhere I read a poem on Open Salon titled “Why the Sea is Salt II.” Brought the Housman lyric to mind. Must go now, and re-read that poem.

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