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But oh, we have remembering hearts, And we say 'How green it was in such and such an April,' And 'Such and such an autumn was very golden,' And 'Everything is for a very short time.’

By Mary Ursula Bethell From From a Garden in the Antipodes (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1929)

Why I like it: Nowadays the ease of instant messaging and the neverending scroll of social media have replaced letter-writing as a primary line of communication. Although our smartphones can keep us superconnected to our friends and family around the world, the instant updates can feel fleeting and ephemeral. Do we know more or less about distant family members because we can see what they have for lunch?

At first, Bethell’s poem appears to offer little in the way of revelation or opinion. The topics she touches upon are as prosaic as some of the things we might see on each other’s social media posts – the weather, her garden, birds – but the final stanza pivots towards more philosophical territory, casting new light on what she writes about. Her own and her friends’ “remembering hearts” recall brighter days, but are also cognisant of life’s fleeting nature. And yet there’s something hopeful about this rumination on mortality and the inevitable passing of time. In this poem, memory is a powerful tool with which to summon the small comforts of the past. The intimacy of a personal letter heightens these comforts and gives them a new, special meaning.