FILE - This Feb. 23, 1945 file photo shows U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raising the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima, Japan. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island became the site of one of the bloodiest, most famous battles of World War II against Japan. The photograph inspired a sculpture by Felix de Weldon which will be auctioned Feb. 22, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal, File)
A poet too? Rare Churchill verse for sale
Published: 12:32:33 PM, Thu 07 February 2013 UTC
LONDON (AP) — Wartime leader, Nobel Prize-winning historian, amateur painter — and perhaps a poet, too.
A rare piece of verse by Winston Churchill is set to be auctioned, offering a glimpse into his patriotic and militaristic frame of mind. The 40-line work is written by hand, signed but not dated; experts believe it was written around 1900.
Churchill wrote poetry while a student but experts say this poem — called "Our Modern Watchwords" — is unusual because it was written when Churchill was an adult.
One section describes the mood before a naval battle: "The silence of a mighty fleet portends the tumult yet to be."
It will be sold by Bonhams auction house in April and is expected to fetch between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds ($18,800 and $23,500).
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