A few weeks ago, Oliver W (Year 10) quickly jotted down the first six lines of this poem in an old journal. Over the following days, he expanded and reshaped it into a more finished piece. Although the structure changed several times, two things always remained: the rhyme between “wind” and the first syllable of “vindicate,” and the poem’s overall purpose. Oliver’s work was inspired by When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats, which explores a pure, transcendent love that ultimately slips away. His poem focuses on the second part of that idea - love that fades or escapes.
Some butterflies through the wind
Nulléd music of wings vind-
-icate my soul by sight,
Dulléd hearth set alight.
Dancing altus verdant blades
Swaying yet away makes fade
the liver kindling,
Straying, hence dwindling.
Yet comes harsh, portentous gale
Sundering my bone heart pale,
with the wings skyward lift
Plundering quick their gift.
Now none with beautiful sight
Burnt in breathless blue by blight,
Sun: mock of candescence,
‘Tweren’t of much quintessence.
Something of Love
Oliver W, Year 10