I want to mention apparent allusions that have struck me in two recent poems.

One is in A Bird Called Elaeus, David Constantine’s brilliant book of versions from The Greek Anthology. The first quatrain in his Coda of Anthology-inspired original poems is called ‘Laws of War’:

We too had laws of war: don’t poison wells
Don’t fell the olive trees (they take so long to grow)
Don’t bomb the schools, don’t bomb the hospitals …
Stranger seeking our monument, look around you.

There are actually two apparent allusions here – one to Wren’s epitaph in St Paul’s Cathedral, the other to W B Yeats’ … Continue Reading

Click here for my review of this enchanting book for The London Grip.

David Constantine, A Bird Called Elaeus, Bloodaxe Books, £12.00