Poems by Alfred Austin

Have just finished a collection of poems by Alfred Austin, who is perhaps the only political journalist appointed Poet Laureate.

His poem Forgiveness might have been written on the theme of parliamentary journalism:

Seen through the vista of the vanished years,
How trivial seem the struggle and the crown,
How vain past feuds, when reconciling tears
Course down the channel worn by vanished frown.
How few mean half the bitterness they speak!
Words more than feelings keep us still apart,
And, in the heat of passion or of pique,
The tongue is far more cruel than the heart.
Since love alone makes it worth while to live,
Let all be now forgiven, and forgive. 

For several years I have had a book of poetry that I dip into, reading one poem (or one page if the poems are long) per day.

I have just started the collected poetry of Rupert Brooke - with the centenary of the First World War coming up it seemed appropriate.