11/2/1959 Sudden fears and bitter tears

To M.M.

How fragile are the bonds that daily link
Our little selves to all the things we love;
For every parting brings us to the brink
Where swift oblivion fondest hopes disprove -
Sad sombre thoughts, that spring from sudden fears
That some poor written word, misunderstood,
Might bring you needless pain; and bitter tears
For loss beyond recall, and all my good.

11/2/1959

You may notice that today's poem features a pencilled tick in the left hand corner. And on the reverse, there are two ticks. There is a letter from Cyril later on that we will blog about separately, but it basically outlined that the handwritten ticks marked the poem as one of Cyril's particular favourites, and that, with Marianne's permission, he would like to publish in time...