Poetry

William Butler Yeats

1865 - 1939

The Song of Wandering Aengus

I went out to the hazel wood,

Because a fire was in my head,

And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

And hooked a berry to a thread,

And when white moths were on the wing,

And moth-like stars were flickering out,

I dropped the berry in a stream

And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor

I went to blow the fire a flame,

But something rustled on the floor,

And someone called me by my name:

It had been a glimmering girl

With apple blossoms in her hair

Who called me by my name and ran

And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering

Through hollow lands,

I will find out where she has gone,

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among the dappled grass,

And pluck till time and times are done,

The silver apples of the moon,

The golden apples of the sun.

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