The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Pulling up Beattock, a steady climb:
The gradient’s against her, but she’s on time.
Past cotton-grass and moorland border,
Shovelling white steam over her shoulder.
‘Night Mail’ (1936)
Letters of thanks, letters from banks,
Letters of joy from girl and boy,
Receipted bills and invitations
To inspect new stock or to visit relations,
And applications for situations,
And timid lovers’ declarations,
And gossip, gossip from all the nations.
‘Night Mail’ (1936)
Private faces in public places
Are wiser and nicer
Than public faces in private places.
‘Orators’ (1932) dedication
To ask the hard question is simple.
‘Poems’ (1933) no. 27
At Dirty Dick’s and Sloppy Joe’s
We drank our liquor straight,
Some went upstairs with Margery,
And some, alas, with Kate.
‘The Sea and the Mirror—Master and Boatswain’ (1944)
My Dear One is mine as mirrors are lonely.
‘The Sea and the Mirror—Miranda’ (1944)
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.
‘September 1, 1939’ (1940)
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice