21 AUGUST 1942, Page 11

FRAGMENT

THE mermaids sang by the shore of the sea

In unrewarded chastity, The willows wept a woman's tears, A woman's loneliness was theirs.

Here all the beauty of the land Lay waste beneath his outstretched hand.

The scent of roses in the wind

Was young and sweet ; it brought to mind A woman left behind. . . . DIANA JAMES.