Selected Poems of John Drinkwater
John Drinkwater
Read by Bruce Kachuk
This remarkable selection of poems from the pen of master poet John Drinkwater is outstanding in its portrayal of the poet's deep appreciation of all aspects of the wonder of human existence. These are poems of life, life's ups and downs, its joys, its sorrows, its tragedy. This is Drinkwater at his best - the poet of the present, the eternal, the here and now - embarking on an ardent quest for meaning in life experiences, some extraordinary, some mundane, experiences elegantly expressed in these poems of marvel and revelation. Drinkwater writes of a common lived experience in poems that resonate with us all, "Still in a world that fortune cannot change," trapped by, "This nature, this great flood of life, this cheat / That uses us as baubles for her coat."
The triumph of love and Drinkwater's deep conviction of its saving graces is richly evident throughout this collection, whether it be the love of the miracles of nature or of the binding love between two living souls, itself one of the greatest miracles. Drinkwater expresses in most graceful terms his fervent ardor coupled with wonder at the role the phenomenon of love plays in this life, a life whose purpose remains ceaselessly obscure and mysterious. As his personal journey of life's/love's discovery concludes in this selection of poems, Drinkwater is compelled to assert, "And when life needs no more of us at all, / Love's word will be the last that we recall" - the essence of which being an apt summary of the value and sentiment this great poet would wish to leave at the doorstep of our open minds to ponder after this, his current mission.
- Summary by Bruce Kachuk
(1 hr 32 min)
Chapters
A Prayer | 2:43 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Reckoning | 1:47 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Pierrot | 1:47 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Miracle | 1:24 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Crowning of Dreaming John | 4:54 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Vagabond | 1:12 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
In Lady Street | 4:39 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
At Grafton | 1:26 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
January Dusk | 1:12 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
A Town Window | 0:53 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Last Confessional | 1:56 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Mad Tom Tatterman | 2:10 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Mamble | 1:15 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Birthright | 0:54 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Olton Pools | 1:07 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Sunrise on Rydal Water | 2:40 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Holiness | 0:57 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Anthony Crundle | 1:38 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Immortality | 2:17 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Petition | 1:44 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
May Garden | 1:32 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Reciprocity | 0:52 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Hours | 1:56 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Midlands | 3:32 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Cotswold Love | 1:24 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Moonlit Apples | 1:27 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Elizabeth Ann | 1:07 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Blackbird | 1:03 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Mystery | 1:54 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Mrs. Willow | 1:55 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Deer | 1:13 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Passage | 0:45 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
History | 1:56 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
To One I Love | 3:52 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Toll-Gate House | 1:08 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
A Lesson to My Ghost | 4:31 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Dying Philosopher to His Fiddler | 1:40 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Two Ships | 0:52 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Portia's Housekeeping | 2:30 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
In the Valley | 1:21 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Who were before Me | 2:05 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Samplers | 1:32 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
The Pledge | 1:16 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Nunc Dimittis | 1:09 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |
Persuasion | 10:59 | Read by Bruce Kachuk |