This week I have chosen Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden to mark the funeral of a dearly loved member of the family.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
W.H. Auden (1907—1973)
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
Poem 231. Funeral Blues
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
This poem, originally written as a satiric mourning poem for a political leader, is now often read at funerals in a genuine spirit. This is due to John Hannah’s reading it in Four Weddings and a Funeral where, as Matthew mourns his partner Gareth he turns to the words of “another splendid bugger”.
The first stanza introduces the funeral motif: stop any untoward noises and begin the funeral procession with the traditional muted drums. The second stanza adds a further dimension: the world must acknowledge this huge loss with aerial messages and formal attire for the birds in the squares and the policemen directing the procession. In the third stanza, the narrative switches to examine the feelings of personal loss—the encompassing nature of the love shared with the dead man and in the last line, the sense of betrayal that this perfect existence could be destroyed. The last stanza shows world-weariness: the world and the universe may as well be discarded since everything is useless now.
Auden expresses very well the feeling of loss and dislocation one feels, the weary acceptance that life has changed beyond recognition and that “nothing now can ever come to any good.”
I like it because Nicola liked it. She loved Four Weddings and a Funeral and we watched it together several times, so for me, the poem serves a dual purpose. I can remember the happy times we spent together and I can recall the black despair after she died. On the whole, I prefer the lighter part.
I have chosen it because today was the funeral of one of the guiding lights in Nicola’s life: Uncle George. George was a funny, gentle, humble man who with his wife Jean had a tremendous influence on Nicola and her two boys. When I joined the family, they were enormously kind and welcoming to me and I soon understood why they were universally loved and respected. I will miss Uncle George and his sense of humour very much. He was a true gentleman as well as a gentle man. Rest in peace.