The Horses

Edwin Muir

This was a set poem in school. At that time, we lived under a '4 minute warning', so seriously was the possible threat of a Soviet missile attack taken (or so it seemed to me). This poem summed up the potential aftermath.

I still remember the phrase: 'The seven days war that put the world to sleep'.

Later, I was to listen to Bob Dylan and appreciate his poetry - i.e. lyrics. 'Talkin' World War III Blues' was, to me, the urban equivalent of Muir's 'The Horses'.

This work may still be in copyright, as Edwin Muir died as recently as 1959, therefore I have not reproduced it here. It is, though, available at poemhunter (I have no affiliation to that site):

The Horses