A Last Confession

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



What lively lad most pleasured me
Of all that with me lay?
I answer that I gave my soul
And loved in misery,
But had great pleasure with a lad
That I loved bodily.

Flinging from his arms I laughed
To think his passion such
He fancied that I gave a soul
Did but our bodies touch,
And laughed upon his breast to think
Beast gave beast as much.

I gave what other women gave
That stepped out of their clothes.
But when this soul, its body off,
Naked to naked goes,
He it has found shall find therein
What none other knows,

And give his own and take his own
And rule in his own right;
And though it loved in misery
Close and cling so tight,
There's not a bird of day that dare
Extinguish that delight.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

42 sec read
233

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXBAXA XCBCXC XXXDXD XEAEXE
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 681
Words 141
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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