All All And All The Dry Worlds Lever

Portrait of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas 1914–1953

I

All all and all the dry worlds lever, Stage of the ice, the solid ocean, All from the oil, the pound of lava. City of spring, the governed flower, Turns in the earth that turns the ashen Towns around on a wheel of fire.

How now my flesh, my naked fellow, Dug of the sea, the glanded morrow, Worm in the scalp, the staked and fallow. All all and all, the corpse's lover, Skinny as sin, the foaming marrow, All of the flesh, the dry worlds lever.

II

Fear not the waking world, my mortal, Fear not the flat, synthetic blood, Nor the heart in the ribbing metal. Fear not the tread, the seeded milling, The trigger and scythe, the bridal blade, Nor the flint in the lover's mauling.

Man of my flesh, the jawbone riven, Know now the flesh's lock and vice, And the cage for the scythe-eyed raver. Know, O my bone, the jointed lever, Fear not the screws that turn the voice, And the face to the driven lover.

III

All all and all the dry worlds couple, Ghost with her ghost, contagious man With the womb of his shapeless people. All that shapes from the caul and suckle, Stroke of mechanical flesh on mine, Square in these worlds the mortal circle.

Flower, flower the people's fusion, O light in zenith, the coupled bud, And the flame in the flesh's vision. Out of the sea, the drive of oil, Socket and grave, the brassy blood, Flower, flower, all all and all.

Keep reading

Discover more of Dylan Thomas’s poetry.

Explore all poems

Readers

Reader discussion 2 comments

Add your reading ↓
Readers
2
Longest reading
shannon62 words
  1. in the eating United Kingdom

    does dylan thomas get better with every poem i read??? the answer has to be; yes. I mean, especially the middle section... it's all just so beautiful...

  2. shannon United States

    i've noticed dylan thomas writes about the basics--birth(s), love, sex, death--sometimes all at the same time. this particular poem... seems to describe physicality as a prison whose freedom is not only death, but also sex, or physical pleasure. don't mistake me, the most prominent symbols here are related to death, but there is always the "flower" of humanity, and the coupled buds...

Your turn

Shown with your comment.

Never published. Only so we can reach you.

Comments are read before they appear. See our terms.