At the Party

W. H. AudenW. H. Auden

1 min read · 12.5K reads

Unrhymed, unrhythmical, the chatter goes:

Yet no one hears his own remarks as prose. Beneath each topic tunelessly discussed

The ground-bass is reciprocal mistrust. The names in fashion shuttling to and fro

Yield, when deciphered, messages of woe. You cannot read me like an open book.

I'm more myself than you will ever look. Will no one listen to my little song? Perhaps I shan't be with you very long. A howl for recognition, shrill with fear,

Shakes the jam-packed apartment, but each ear

Is listening to its hearing, so none hear.

W. H. Auden
About the poet

W. H. Auden

1907 - 1973/Male/EnglishA poet noted for his engagement with politics, psychology, morals, love, and religion, and variety in tone, form and content.

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