The Song of Wandering Aengus

William Butler Yeats

13 June 1865 - 28 January 1939

W. B. Yeats was a poet, dramatist and writer born in County Dublin, Ireland, and at the forefront of the Irish Literary Revival. He was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Though he had ties and lived some years in England, he identified as Irish and, in fact, held fiercely nationalistic views. His earlier work reflects his fascination with the occult and the cyclical nature of life. His later work became more concerned with the affairs of society and politics. Shocking to the Burmese Mermaid, he believed that authoritarian rule, not democracy, best served society. He abhorred political liberalism and saw democracy as a threat to order. His revolutionary political leanings led him to serve as Senator of the Irish Free State. In his later years he traveled to India and translated parts of the Upanishads, an indication that spiritual matters remained a constant in his life and work.  

The Song of Wandering Aengus

I went out to the hazel wood                                     

Because a fire was burning 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 aflame,

But something rustled on the floor,

And some one 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. 

                           The Silver Apples of the Moon

                       by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh

           Painting inspired by The Song of Wandering Aengus