Cantos Of Wandering Introduction Ross Keating tells us that this long poem was first written as a verse play called The Great Wall and given a public reading. It was released in its present form in 1957. I can’t help reproducing a review that Ross quotes, a review from a real Australian literature ‘heavy’ of […]
One of the major collections of Francis’ poetry. Five long poems each an experiment in form. Forming a progression from the Godless world to the vision of the world cleansed and redeemed by the God-Man. Francis wanted these poems to be judged as literature, not as devotional pieces written to a select audience. He wished […]
A Dream Of Wet Pavements Introduction A wild and powerful condemnation of the greed society. The Title Just as objects and colours are distorted and smeared by the wet pavements at night in the city of dreadful night so too the poem gives a lurid and distorted picture to convey the modern corruption. But from […]
Elegy For The Young Poets Introduction How to Read The rhyme pattern makes it flow on from verse to verse, even after full stops which like the short second lines help slow things down, a bit of a contrast with the sharp barked indignations of ‘A Dream of Wet Pavements’. Usual 4 stresses followed […]
The Ballad Of The Rhyming Knight Introduction Who is this slightly ridiculous figure clopping by? Who else but Francis himself? A little light hearted mockery of his own rhymed quest. A bit of a breather after the intensities of the two preceding poems. The knight is also of course a representative figure of all the […]
After The Flood Introduction A cleansed and renewed earth, just as there was after the flood of Noah. There has been the passing through not only of external catastrophe but also of inner ordeal ‘our desolation’. Reading Hints A supple, graceful and natural verse reflecting calm speech rhythms takes the place of the rhyming and […]
Hymn To God The Man Introduction What can we say here except that the poet forgets himself and sings a kirtan to his Lord, enabling us reciting it to do the same. No rules for reading, we just read from the heart as each paragraph of verse swells up in praise. Most modern devotional verse […]
Dear Christ upon this Christmas morn Let all men weep that you were born Upon this earth that’s thought so fair That’s but the Cross which you must bear. The beauty of the bubbling rose, The lovely diamonds of the dew, Proclaim naught but the pain you chose That we might one day live as […]
During the years I lived alongside Avatar’s Abode, mid 70’s onwards, I had occasion among my activities relating to production of plays, theatrical events etc. etc, to read many of Francis’ poems to an audience, quite often at his request; here is one poem he wrote for me to recite and which to my knowledge […]