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  1. Culture
12 May 2021

The NS Poem: Heine’s raspberry drops

A new poem by Craig Raine.

By Craig Raine

Lot One:
blossom bursting like popcorn,
a chain reaction.

This magnolia,
a bright hosanna
in the sunlit bay

between two buttresses,
borne up in excelsis,
as breeze buoys a dress.

The dog eating a bone
with ill-fitting dentures (listen).
Aran cauliflower knitting.

Lizards are linen.
There is a bobbin
in every Cox’s pippin.

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In Moscow, I saw
dead electric razors
in a shop window,

piled like a sample
of deep damp
Aldeburgh shingle.

Everything must go.
Everything you know.
Everything you’ll never know.

Craig Raine is a poet, novelist and critic, and was the editor of Areté.

[See also: The NS Poem: from uncivil]

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This article appears in the 12 May 2021 issue of the New Statesman, Without total change Labour will die

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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THANK YOU