Was
Was
Original Text
F.R. Scott, F.R. Scott: Selected Poems (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1966): 163.
1Was is an Is that died
2 in our careless hands
3and would not stay
4 in its niche of time.
5We crumble all our nows
6 into the dust of Was
7not feeling
8 the wind blow with us
9forgetting Was
10 cannot be shaken off
11 follows close behind
12 breathes down our neck
13 guides our reaching hand.
14One day we shall look back
15 into those staring eyes
16and there will be nothing left but
17 Was.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire / Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form
Special Copyright
Copyright © the estate of F. R. Scott. Included
with the generous permission of William Toye, his literary executor.