Happy Birthday, Mr. Auden

It's the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet WH Auden. Many people cottoned to him after hearing "Funeral Blues" read so beautifully by Simon Cowell in "Four Weddings and a Funeral." One of Auden's publishers says they won't be making a big fuss over his hundredth anniversary:

"Auden's centennial will probably be a low-keyed affair," mused Mendelson, "because the kind of reader who most admires Auden tends to be someone who isn't especially interested in organizing big events and would prefer to express their admiration for him by reading his work in private."

As opposed to those blowhards for TS Eliot who can't WAIT to arrange parades and parties and all sorts of nonsense. In honor, here is one of Auden's less bawdy limericks>

A friend, who is not an ascetic,
Writes: "Ireland, my dear, is magnetic.
No snakes. Lots of elves
Who just offer themselves --
Rather small but MOST sympathetic."