Common Sense, Nonsense, and Everything in Between

Two Songs For Hedli Anderson

For all the victims of Mandala Airlines Flight MZ 727,

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

WH Auden

Common Sense, Nonsense, and Everything in Between