Time Will Tell

[AlfredJPruffock]

Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;


If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,

Time will say nothing but I told you so.

There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say

If I could tell you I would let you know.


Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
Then - Suppose all the lions get up and go,
And all the governments and soldiers run away;

Will Time say nothing but I told you so?


If I could tell you I would let you know.



WH Auden

[PRC1964]

Nice poem. I like this one too it reminds me of my grandmother who had many stories to tell.

At last the secret is out,
as it always must come in the end,
the delicious story is ripe to tell
to tell to the intimate friend;
over the tea-cups and into the square
the tongues has its desire;
still waters run deep, my dear,
there's never smoke without fire

Behind the corpse in the reservoir,
behind the ghost on the links,
behind the lady who dances
and the man who madly drinks,
under the look of fatigue
the attack of migraine and the sigh
there is always another story,
there is more than meets the eye.

For the clear voice suddenly singing,
high up in the convent wall,
the scent of the elder bushes,
the sporting prints in the hall,
the croquet matches in summer,
the handshake, the cough, the kiss,
there is always a wicked secret,
a private reason for this.

W. H. Auden - At Last the Secret is Out

[AlfredJPruffock]

Thanks for that - I enjoyed your contribution , another gem from Mr Auden.