Louis MacNeice was a northern Irish poet, a friend of WH Auden. He used a quotation from this poem "The Earth Compels" as the title of a poetry collection published in 1938. There are two readings here - the first I made today, the second I made three years ago, I just found it in my files. He was about 28 when he wrote this poem. It is about mortality and the inevitable fate that awaits us all, which appears to be a topic that seems to bother intellectuals more than it bothers the rest of us: Shakespeare was obsessed with it. The poem is said to be addressed to his ex-wife, Mary Ezra, after their divorce, expressing his acceptance and gratitude for what their marriage had been. There's more here about the unusual rhyme scheme and the meaning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunl..."I am dying, Egypt, dying.Give me some wine and let me speak a little."Ant says this to Cleo in Antony and Cleopatra. Context http://nfs.sparknotes.com/antony-and-...Rhotic speakers such as Scots and Northern Irish pronounce the 'r' in iron. Here it has to rhyme with 'siren' and I think there's an intentional allusion to 'irony'. Here's a discussion about David Cameron, the UK's Prime Minister, talking about a 'cast iron promise', pronouncing the 'r':http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2...The paintings are by Anthony Yates RBA RBSA. I found them because one of them is actually called "Sunlight on the Garden". They appear to depict a marriage which is the theme of the poem. They are available here at The Fosse Gallery:http://www.fossegallery.com/artistsde...The sunlight on the garden Hardens and grows cold, We cannot cage the minute Within its nets of gold, When all is told We cannot beg for pardon.Our freedom as free lances Advances towards its end; The earth compels, upon it Sonnets and birds descend; And soon, my friend, We shall have no time for dances.The sky was good for flying Defying the church bells And every evil iron Siren and what it tells: The earth compels, We are dying, Egypt, dyingAnd not expecting pardon, Hardened in heart anew, But glad to have sat under Thunder and rain with you, And grateful too For sunlight on the garden.