Entirely
Louis MacNeice
Poet Bio: Louis MacNeice
Born in Belfast, Ireland, MacNeice was educated at Oxford University and published a volume in 1939 called Autumn Journal. In addition to this, MacNeice was a producer and dramatist for the BBC. During his lifetime, MacNeice was often overshadowed by his close friend, W.H. Auden, leaving his name unknown to many contemporary writers.
"Entirely"
If we could get the hang of it entirely
It would take too long;
All we know is the splash of words in passing
And the falling twigs of song,
And when we try to eavesdrop on the great
Presences it is rarely
That by a stroke of luck we can appropriate
Even a phrase entirely.
If we could find or happiness entirely
In somebody else's arms
We should not fear the spears of the spring nor the city's
Yammering fire alarms
But, as it is, the spears each year go through
Our flesh and almost hourly
Bell or siren banishes the blue
Eyes of Love entirely.
Entirely- Louis MacNeice
And if the world were black and white entirely
And all the charts were plain
Instead of a mad weir of tigerish waters,
A prism of delight and pain,
We might be surer where we wished to go
Or again we might be merely
Bored but in brute reality there is no
Road that is right entirely
Overall Theme
This poem features the belief that there is no right or wrong, but it is what you make of your choices that defines you. MacNeice's message I believe can apply to anyone, teaching one to trust yourself, and the fact that "there is no road that is right entirely" should not be feared, but adopted; for if you wish to succeed, you must be comfortable with being wrong.