I do not want to be reflective any more
Envying and despising unreflective things
Finding pathos in dogs and undeveloped handwriting
And young girls doing their hair and all the castles of sand
Flushed, by the children’s bedtime, level with the shore.

The tide comes in and goes out again, I do not want
To be always stressing either its flux or its permanence,
I do not want to be a tragic or philosophic chorus
But to keep my eye only on the nearer future
And after that let the sea flow over us.

Come then all of you, come closer, form a circle,
Join hands and make believe that joined
Hands will keep away the wolves of water
Who howl along our coast. And be it assumed
That no one hears them among the talk and laughter.

Louis MacNeice, 1907-1963 – “Wolves” from Collected Poems


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One response

  1. Jennifer Mugrage Avatar

    “philosophic chorus”/”sea flow over us”

    Liked by 1 person

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#216: Poets, Prophets, Seeresses & Goddesses from Time & the River Human Voices Wake Us

An episode from 2/9/2026: This is the second episode where I read from my upcoming book Time and the River: From Columbine to the Invention of Fire, which comes out on February 23.This time, I read seven of my favorite poems from the point of view of women. They are:Mr Cassian’s Good Friend, Emily DickinsonVölvaSong to SequanaEponaThe Seeress of VixMiriamMorgan le FayAs I mention, more information about the continental Celtic goddesses Equana and Epona can be found in Miranda Green’s Myth and Symbol in Celtic Religious Art. My article on the burial at Vix is in issue #45 of Ancient World.The best way to support the podcast is by leaving a review on Apple or Spotify, sharing it with others, or sending me a note on what you think. You can also order any of my books: Time and the River: From Columbine to the Invention of Fire, due out next year, is now available for preorder. Other books include Notes from the Grid, To the House of the Sun, The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old, and Bone Antler Stone. I've also edited a handful of books in the S4N Pocket Poems series. I also have a YouTube channel where I share poems and excerpts from these books, mostly as YouTube shorts.Email me at humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com.
  1. #216: Poets, Prophets, Seeresses & Goddesses from Time & the River
  2. #215: 8 Favorite Poems from "Time and the River"
  3. #214: Two of the Best Poems You've Never Heard of (by William Cullen Bryant)
  4. #213: Van Gogh's Early Years
  5. #212: The Most Popular Story in Ancient India
  6. #211: Who Was William Cullen Bryant?
  7. #210: Memories & Legends of William Shakespeare
  8. #209 – Being a Jew in 1900, Being a Jew Now
  9. #208: Bach & God
  10. #207 – Death, the Gods, and Endless Life in Ancient Egypt

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