A Poem for a Thursday #93
Leo Marks was an English writer and cryptographer. During WWII he worked for the SEO in their codes office. Famous poems were used to encrypt messages for the Resistance fighters but they were found not to be secure enough. Marks started writing and using his own poems. The Life That I Have is one of those poems. My favorite piece of information about Marks is that he is the son of Benjamin Marks, one of the owners of Marks & Co., the bookshop that was made famous in Helene Hanff’s 84, Charing Cross Road.
The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.
The Life That I Have
Leo Marks
4 Comments
Peggy
I found this terribly moving despite or perhaps because of its brevity and simplicity. Thank you.
jllee656
I agree. I'm glad you liked it.
Bertshome
My tablet has been under the weather!��
So I've only seen this Thursday poem today but how appropriate that it should be the one I read on the day a blue plaque is unveiled for Noor Khan, the 2nd world war spy who had lived in Bloomsbury and later died in a nazi concentration camp.
jllee656
I just read about that the other day. I recently read a book that featured her and her activities during the war. Fascinating and very sad.