Most Read... John McAuliffeBill Manhire in Conversation with John McAuliffe
(PN Review 259)
Patricia CraigVal Warner: A Reminiscence
(PN Review 259)
Eavan BolandA Lyric Voice at Bay
(PN Review 121)
Joshua WeinerAn Exchange with Daniel Tiffany/Fall 2020
(PN Review 259)
Vahni CapildeoOn Judging Prizes, & Reading More than Six Really Good Books
(PN Review 237)
Christopher MiddletonNotes on a Viking Prow
(PN Review 10)
Next Issue Kirsty Gunn re-arranges the world John McAuliffe reads Seamus Heaney's letters and translations Chris Price's 'Songs of Allegiance' David Herman on Aharon Appelfeld Victoria Moul on Christopher Childers compendious Greek and Latin Lyric Book Philip Terry again answers the question, 'What is Poetry'
Poems Articles Interviews Reports Reviews Contributors
Reader Survey
PN Review Substack

This poem is taken from PN Review 21, Volume 8 Number 1, September - October 1981.

The Grasshopper Warbler Alan Dixon

Surely it was the grasshopper warbler
In the cork-oaks on the hillsides under cover
Making a sound like pebbles struck together,
And not to be confused with the cicada.

He resolved to look for it next morning
And left a piece of paper in the bird book marking
The page, but all the day it kept on raining,
And once he thought he'd left the pan on frying.
...


Searching, please wait... animated waiting image