Funeral blues, by W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one:
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods:
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Wystan Hugh Auden (n. 21 februarie 1907 - d. 29 septembrie 1973) a fost un poet englez, considerat printre cei mai importanţi şi influenţi scriitori ai secolului al XX-lea.Poemul său ironic de dragoste Auden's ironic love poem Funeral Blues (iniţial scris pentru a fi cântat de prietena sa soprana Hedli Anderson) a fost citit emoţionant în filmul din 1994 "Patru căsătorii şi o înmormântare" (Four Weddings and a Funeral).( Wikipedia)