“A Refusal to Mourn the Death by Fire of a Child in London,” poem by Dylan Thomas
poetryfoundation.org

This poem is an antidote to the “thoughts and prayers” mantra. It reminds me of Millay’s “Dirge Without Music” in that it challenges shopworn formulas of mourning. When I discovered it — lo many moons ago — I was captivated, first, by its syntax: Four sentences  with their periods.

(Copyright 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.)