William Golding’s first published work was a book of Poems, published by Macmillan in 1934. Poems is now out of print, but to celebrate National Poetry Day (UK), here is an exclusive look at the first part of Golding’s poem ‘The Phoenix’.
The Phoenix
The phoenix rose again and flew
With crest and plume and pinion
In splendour from grey ashes flashing
Like a jewel turned beneath the sun
In cities and in palaces,
Or toiling through the hot dumb sand
Bare-footed in the barren hills,
Men saw – and would not understand.
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