L1010671_copy © 2011 sarosh. All rights reserved.

PALIMPSEST & THE MODERN GRIEVING SPACE

A pdf copy of this the­sis is avail­able upon request.

A brief inter­lude before we begin:

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

Stop all the clocks, cut off the tele­phone,
Pre­vent the dog from bark­ing with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muf­fled drum
Bring out the cof­fin, let the mourn­ers come.

Let aero­planes cir­cle moan­ing over­head
Scrib­bling on the sky the mes­sage He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the pub­lic doves,
Let the traf­fic police­men wear black cot­ton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My work­ing week and my Sun­day rest,
My noon, my mid­night, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dis­man­tle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For noth­ing now can ever come to any good.

W. H. Auden