The Mower

Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)



The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog  jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.

I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:

Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful

Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on June 09, 2020

Modified on March 14, 2023

24 sec read
132

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXX AXX XAX XX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 414
Words 82
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 2

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry, England. He earned his BA from St John's College, Oxford, and finished with First Class Honours in English. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. more…

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