This poem is taken from PN Review 84, Volume 18 Number 4, March - April 1992.
The Rake's ProgressThe continuity of man
From before birth till after death
Is necessary to his kind.
Either the womb contains the mind
Which carries on to the last breath
Or history never began.
The baby who at last appears
And drinks his mother with her milk
Is clad already in the past:
Spinning and weaving hands at last
Achieved his gown of sack or silk,
As voices made the words he hears.
And there is nothing that he sees
Which ages have not modified.
The very smile his, mother wears
Reflects how she conceivt.., her cares:
...
The page you have requested is restricted to subscribers only. Please enter your username and password and click on 'Continue'.
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 286 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 286 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?