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On writing an ode to

My poem ‘On writing an ode to’ is included in the new anthology of poems ‘O’er a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson’ published by Taproot Press A few years ago I found out that my German grandfather Ernst saved his brother Fritz from the Nazis, Fritz had a learning disability and would likely have become a victim of the Nazis’ muderous eugenics policy Aktion T4. This poem honours both Ernst and Fritz, and asks why some people get odes and others don’t.