'I beg your pardon for the slight delay:
In half-a-minute Mr. Smith will play.
Meanwhile, here is a record I commend—
Though it may have to stop before the end.'

O Lord, to what a bondage have we come!
Not for a second may the Air be dumb.
And men apologize with abject words
If silence falls, and we can hear the birds.
March 25, 1945