Auden's Notebook

One of my trips this week involved a visit to London and, as my train arrived half an hour early, I managed to squeeze in a short visit to the British Library, one of my favourite places on this planet.
I was intending to see if I could find any curiosities in the bookshop, but for some reason it was closed and instead I visited the Ritblat collection, the Library's permanent exhibition of some of its treasures such as the Magna Carta.
I had a quick glance at some of my favourites, Edward VI's diary, Captain Cook's journal and a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra. I discovered a journal written by Samuel Johnson while on a trip to Wales with Mrs Thrale which I have never noticed before and lingered over that for a while, examining this hero of mine's handwriting, but what really caught my eye was a notebook of W H Auden's, a poet I have loved for many years.
I mentioned a while ago that I have begun writing poetry again and, as I experiment with different forms, I find myself counting syllables and working out rhyme schemes in a way that seems, to be honest, quite unpoetical. It was heartening to see that in Auden's notebook of drafts he would also do this.
The notebook was open on a page with a poem (I could not decipher the writing sufficiently to be able to tell you which) where on the left hand side Auden had noted the rhyme scheme in the usual A,B etc way, and on the right of every line he had written the number of syllables. Proof, if proof was needed, that although a large part of poetry is inspiration it comes together through careful crafting.
I have spent the morning rearranging the books on the shelf above my desk, previously home to law text books which, as I no longer need easy access to them, I have replaced with my books on and of poetry that were previously scattered around the house. I am now going to take my collection of Auden and read the poems with a greater understanding of how he worked on them.