Poem by Wystan Hugh Auden

Base Words Are Uttered

Base words are uttered only by the base
And can for such at once be understood,
But noble platitudes:—ah, there's a case
Where the most careful scrutiny is needed
To tell a voice that's genuinely good
From one that's base but merely has succeeded.

1. After Reading a Child's Guide to Modern Physics
2. On the Circuit
3. Horae Canonicae: Prime
4. Christmas Oratio
5. At the Party

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