Edexcel GCSE Poetry Anthology

56
On the Life of Man
What is our life? a play of passion,
Our mirth the music of division,
Our mother’s wombs the tiring houses be,
Where we are dressed for this short Comedy,
5 Heaven the Judicious sharp spectator is,
That sits and marks still who doth act amiss,
Our graves that hide us from the searching Sun,
Are like drawn curtains when the play is done,
Thus march we playing to our latest rest,
10 Only we die in earnest, that’s no Jest.
Sir Walter Raleigh
I Shall Paint My Nails Red
Because a bit of colour is a public service.
Because I am proud of my hands.
Because it will remind me I’m a woman.
Because I will look like a survivor.
5 Because I can admire them in traffi c jams.
Because my daughter will say ugh.
Because my lover will be surprised.
Because it is quicker than dyeing my hair.
Because it is a ten-minute moratorium.
10 Because it is reversible.
Carole Satyamurti