The Statesman's Holiday
William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)
I LIVED among great houses,
Riches drove out rank,
Base drove out the better blood,
And mind and body shrank.
No Oscar ruled the table,
But I'd a troop of friends
That knowing better talk had gone
Talked of odds and ends.
Some knew what ailed the world
But never said a thing,
So I have picked a better trade
And night and morning sing:
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.
Am I a great Lord Chancellor
That slept upon the Sack?
Commanding officer that tore
The khaki from his back?
Or am I de Valera,
Or the King of Greece,
Or the man that made the motors?
Ach, call me what you please!
Here's a Montenegrin lute,
And its old sole string
Makes me sweet music
And I delight to sing:
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.
With boys and girls about him.
With any sort of clothes,
With a hat out of fashion,
With Old patched shoes,
With a ragged bandit cloak,
With an eye like a hawk,
With a stiff straight back,
With a strutting turkey walk.
With a bag full of pennies,
With a monkey on a chain,
With a great cock's feather,
With an old foul tune.
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 58 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | xaxaxbxbxcxcD efxfxxxgxcxcD xxxxxhfhgxexD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,075 |
Words | 213 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 13, 13 |
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"The Statesman's Holiday" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39553/the-statesman's-holiday>.
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