OTHER PEOPLE’S FLOWERS: ‘THE THREAD THAT BINDS’ – SARAH DOLAN
December 2025
Dear David
Thank you for the invitation.
Really enjoyed the journey – from the Raj, to the cleaning of clothes in a river; from Lord Wavell, the penultimate viceroy of India, to an anthology of poetry he produced called Other Men’s Flowers. Earlier in his life he could recite just about all of the poems in the anthology from memory. Wavell went on his own journey – from military maestro to frustrated diplomat. The last poem in the book, which he modestly describes as a wayside dandelion not fit to be in the garden with the other poems, is his own creation.
Here’s to “all beautiful things that help us forget the dreariness of war”.
With thanks and best regards
Sarah L Dolan
PS I do have a small confession to make. At school I got a ‘U’ at history ‘O’ level. Since then, I have learned that history should not be confined to the classroom or the past as it is a living force which touches all of our lives.
‘THE THREAD THAT BINDS’:
Note: Sarah Dolan’s work has been previously featured on the site in BETWEEN RIVERS: SUMMER 2022.
Diana Sanders
January 11, 2026Sarah’s work is reflective of our times and leaves a deep impression – phrases like:
‘chapters underlined by ruddy fingerprints
references decorated with medals
postscripts to be chiselled into stone’
and
‘Politicians, mosquitoes, what s to differentiate between these blood thirsty
individuals except they don’t care whose blood they steal’
leave a lump in my throat.
Fantastic work, Sarah, and I love your artwork too.
Sarah L Dolan
January 13, 2026Thanks for your comments, Di, and for taking the time. (There is such a vast amount of lovely stuff on David’s site it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start). Yes, you are spot on – history just keeps on repeating itself.