Resorting to the Shorter Oxford (not online AFAIK): Variation of oss. 1. v. Prophecy, forecast. 2. v. Offer, give promise of, attempt, show readiness 3. v.t

Resorting to the Shorter Oxford (not online AFAIK): Variation of oss. 1. v. Prophecy, forecast. 2. v. Offer, give promise of, attempt, show readiness 3. v.t. Direct (a person) to an advantageous place or thing. Late Middle English, now dialect. As to the poem, I actually think Auden is on to something that's rarely thought with any major first. What does it forecast? Nothing much as it turned out. Worth going to see? Sure. Worth seeing? Most certainly not. I'm put in mind of the queues on Everest. Each achievement was remarkable in and of itself. One day it'll be dull and ordinary, and well on its way to a polluted, waste strewn industrial estate. A tick on an Instagram (or whatever follows it) or bucket list. I'd have been an astronaut though. :)