Grey Area

The poem read during the ceremony at the marriage of Chelsea Clinton over the weekend was 'The live that I have' written by the magnificent Leo Marks - one of the most interesting men of the last century and one of my all time heroes.

Marks was a brilliant cryptographer and codebreaker. This specific poem was one of many he wrote to contain code key cyphers that were given to SOE officers during WW2 - original poems were far harder to 'crack' that more widely know verse - and this one was given to Violette Szarbo and features in the film biography 'Carve Her Name with Pride'. The key to a specific code that is only known by one person is hidden in each poem - making it almost impossible for the Gestapo to unravel messages.

After the war, Eisenhower went on record to say that the work of the Bedford group, headed by Marks, shortened the war by at least 3 months. ( Marks was considered unsuitable for Bletchley Park because he was so original and unorthadox ). Marks believed that spies working undercover in Europe deserved every possible support and assistance ( not current thinking at the time ) that could be offered and personally briefed many of the most important figures in counter espionage. Marks knew that most radio operators working undercover in France had a lifespan of just 3 weeks and was able to develop a means of dealing with information here instead in an undecypherable form, saving countless lives.

After the war he became a writer, including the books and scripts for Sebastian with Dirk Bogarde - again set in the world of codes and cyphers, and the astonishing Peeping Tom, way beyond it's years - the critical backlash to this film hurt him deeply and ruined his film career. His Autobiography was only cleared for publication by the British government in 1998 - 20 years after it was written. Curiously, he also voiced Satan in the Martin Scorcese film - 'Last Temptation of Christ'

What I like about this poem is not just it's obvious poignancy ( it is believed to be written for Ruth Hambro, a girlfriend killed in a plane crash ) but it's physical form - the way it has it's own beat and resonance, it's like song lyrics that don't need music. In a way - it reminds me of nonsense poetry - put together because of the way the words sound - and not what they actually mean.

Years ago when I was quite young, I saw him on Wogan - I thought he was amazing, but quite melancholy at the same time. Leo Marks died in 2001.

The Life That I Have.

The life that I have is all that I have
And the life that I have is yours
The love that I have of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years in the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.