All I have is a Voice to Undo the Folded Lie

In Level 4 we are studying protests, demonstrations and big events. We also listened to a woman talk about how she felt at an anti-war rally.

This is a poem written by the English poet W.H. Auden, as he was sitting in a bar in New York, and the German armies were marching into Poland to begin World War II. He writes how he is afraid of what will happen and how strange it is that everybody’s going about their business as normal, while Europe descends into a war that will kill millions. However, all is not totally hopeless. At the end of the poem he sees some lights in the distance that point to a more positive future.

It is an important anti-war poem that applies as much today, as we start a new decade, and an important warning to us and governments everywhere to keep the peace. It foresaw the 60’s slogan: “Make Love Not War”. Listen and read the poem. What did Auden mean and feel while he wrote the poem? Why are the skyscrapers blind? What does he think of the commuters? Who are the deaf? And who are the dumb? How do you feel about it?