February 26, 2014

The Song of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats

aayeats.jpg

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 become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom 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 and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

Source: The Wind Among the Reeds (1899)


Posted by gerardvanderleun at February 26, 2014 12:23 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

That was a sigh-worthy poem.

Posted by: Jewel at February 26, 2014 1:04 PM

Indeed. *sigh*

Posted by: Joan of Argghh! at February 26, 2014 2:15 PM

May I recommend Paul Winter and Friends 'Golden Apples of the Sun'? A beautiful musical setting for this lovely poem. Always get the tears flowing...

Posted by: Kurt at February 26, 2014 2:35 PM

Never read the poem before, enjoying the language and the imagery, and then, wham! got to the last three lines. Those have been in my soul since childhood, a half a century ago, because they're cited on an inside leaf of Ray Bradbury's magnificent short story collection, "The Golden Apples of the Sun." First time I've ever read them in context. Thank you. ..bruce..

Posted by: bfwebster at February 26, 2014 5:54 PM

Finally….a poem that I actually like. Good job !

Posted by: Jack at February 26, 2014 7:57 PM

Done and done, Kurt. Excellent suggestion. I value it.

Posted by: vanderleun at February 26, 2014 8:48 PM

God used part of the male to form the female to show that they were actually the same created being, two halves of a whole. Man searches for that companion. The search has created beautiful
art.

( thanks for recommending the musical versions.)


Posted by: grace at February 26, 2014 8:54 PM

It is The Great Dance where the dual images of God - equal in essence but so different in substance! - seek union without annihilation, where the two become one yet still are two. And we dance upon fields of grace, Grace...

Posted by: Kurt at February 27, 2014 1:05 PM

Kurt and grace. Concomitant comments. One biblical, one secular, both enshrining the same cosmogony. Great Dance, indeed. But, isn't the consummation of the "union" of the opposites on the scale at hand a "small" death, annihilation?

Posted by: Me at February 27, 2014 5:14 PM

Me: It seems like, for a moment (maybe even the best of moments...) the self is lost in the other, but then there is a gentle, loving separation and the self returns. Being that annihilation, I believe, implies permanent cessation, I don't think it is the correct word for this union. But I could be wrong...

Posted by: Kurt at February 27, 2014 8:16 PM