Poetry Friday--"Nothing Is Lost"

If you are of an age and you remember the actor/singer, Noël Coward, you might recall musical performances such as this:



Coward originally titled it "What's Going to Happen to the Children?" when he wrote it back in 1927. The lyrics are shockingly contemporary, don't you think? I believe this recording is from 1955.

Besides songs, Coward also wrote poems:

Nothing Is Lost

Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told
Lie all our memories, lie all the notes
Of all the music we have ever heard
And all the phrases those we loved have spoken,
Sorrows and losses time has since consoled,
Family jokes, out-moded anecdotes
Each sentimental souvenir and token
Everything seen, experienced, each word
Addressed to us in infancy, before
Before we could even know or understand
The implications of our wonderland.
There they all are, the legendary lies
The birthday treats, the sights, the sounds, the tears
Forgotten debris of forgotten years
Waiting to be recalled, waiting to rise
Before our world dissolves before our eyes
Waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
A word, a tune, a known familiar scent
An echo from the past when, innocent
We looked upon the present with delight
And doubted not the future would be kinder
And never knew the loneliness of night.

A recording of the poem is available on YouTube if you'd like to hear more of Coward's voice.

Visit Fomograms for the Poetry Friday Round-Up.

--Diane