Louis MacNeice Poems

Louis MacNeice was a well-regarded member of the Auden-Spender-Day Lewis group, although not the most famous. He collaborated with Auden on Letters from Iceland. He taught for a time, married, and continued to write. His collection, Poems, published in 1935 was one of his most successful.

Sunlight on the Garden

by Louis MacNeice

‘Sunlight on the Garden’ by Louis MacNeice is a poem about change, death, and accepting that life eventually ends.

One of the poet's best, and saddest, poems.

The sunlight on the garden

Hardens and grows cold,

We cannot cage the minute

Within its nets of gold;

Explore more poems from Louis MacNeice

Meeting Point

by Louis MacNeice

‘Meeting Point’ by Louis MacNiece is an eight-stanza poem that uses structure, rhyme, and metaphor to reveal the life cycle of a relationship.

Prayer Before Birth

by Louis MacNeice

‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis MacNeice was written during the terror struck days of World War II. It places the realities of an evil world into the mouth of an unborn baby.

Snow

by Louis MacNeice

‘Snow’ by Louis MacNeice looks like a straightforward poem about a winter scene, but the truth is much more complex.

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