H'm: poems

by R.S. Thomas

Genres: Poetry

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1972

About the author

Ronald Stuart Thomas (1913-2000) (otherwise stylised as R.S. Thomas) was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest who was noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicisation of Wales.

Reviews

[Raoul G · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this collection R.S. Thomas focuses more on spiritual themes like God's silence / absence, meaning, desire, etc.
One of my favorite poems:

Via Negativa
Why no! I never thought other than
That God is that great absence
In our lives, the empty silence
Within, the place where we go
Seeking, not in hope to
Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices
In our knowledge, the darkness
Between stars. His are the echoes
We follow, the footprints he has just
Left. We put our hands in
His side hoping to find
It warm. We look at people
And places as though he had looked
At them, too; but miss the reflection.

[Dr Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and profound poetry. As well as ruminations on faith and doubt and absence and being, from the perspective of 2024 it is hard not to be struck by the environmental themes. Other and No Answer are especially powerful examples.

God secreted
A tear. Enough, enough.
He commanded, but the machine
Looked at him and went on singing.