five years childbearing
would need to come to terms with
the dangers of birth,
she on a bed not
of straw, but as good as.
I am of trees and
machines, aware of my self
and the land only. Those who
delegate, empty out. They have no
ground.
Sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart,
Will you love me ever?
Will you remember the day
When we were happy in May?
‘Will You Remember?’, from Maytime (1917)
Parson’s Pleasure
There’s an old anecdote about the River Cherwell, often
attributed to Maurice Bowra, that has become something
of an old wives’ tale in Oxford. Three dons lie beneath the
willows on a grassy bank, at a male-only bathing place called
‘Parson’s Pleasure’. In keeping with the place’s traditions, they
sunbathe nude. A punt glides into sight, an