John Betjeman on 'The Wasteland'.
God preserve us from the verses
Full of lots and lots of quotes,
Most of them in foreign lingo,
All of them bestrewn with notes.
God preserve us from the poet
Scribbling in his cubbyhole,
Malcontent, obscure and arid,
Of his wintry, withered soul.
God preserve us from the Moderns
Writing for their favoured few.
God preserve us from the Wasteland.
God preserve us from the new.
God preserve us, Mr Eliot,
From these godforsaken things.
Bring us back the tried and tested.
Bring us poetry that sings.
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