I was looking through my 20th Century in Poetry book today which is a weighty tome as you might imagine, arranged in chronological order from 1900 to 2000. At the back there is an Index of First Lines, which is essentially a list of fragments, thought provoking glimpses into the poems contained within. I like the slither of insight you get into the content of the poem as well as an instant sense of how writers mould language like soft clay. Sometimes that clay is fired in my imagination and I have to turn to the page to read the complete poem, sometimes I just keep reading down the list.
A fragment of fragments for you:
Do you drive an old car? 703
Down the close darkening lanes they sang their way 146
Dürer would have seen a reason for living 207
Even now there are places where a thought might grow 548
Every year without knowing it I have passed the day 480
Father, this year's jinx rides us apart 442
Feeble Caligula! to say 327
Flawlessly typed and spaced 562
For 5p at a village fête I bought 551
For me dark words are 421
I've left the page numbers in as it gives you a rough guide as to the year the poem was written which also suggests some context. If you are wondering I had to turn to page 562 to read The List by U. A. Fanthorpe...
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