Poetry Thursday - In Westerham Woods by Andrew Young

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In Westerham Woods

Two lovers here once carved their name,
A heart between them like a flame;
Now these two lovers' names depart
From either side a broken heart.

Andrew Young (1885-1971)


This evening my son helped a friend move house - a few belongings - after a split from his girlfriend. Perhaps they'll get together again, perhaps not, he said. There seem to be "complicated backgrounds" on both sides. Sadly, the girlfriend is pregnant and the friend won't have the same contact with his child that my son is so enjoying now.

Young was born in Scotland but moved to Sussex in 1920. Westerham Wood in Kent (if indeed this is the one in the poem) is now a site of special scientific interest. Andrew Young seems, as with many lyrical poets, to have become rather neglected...