Title:  The Celtic Twilight

Author:  W. B. Yeats

Release Date:  December 14, 2003 [EBook #10459]

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

*** Start of this project gutenberg EBOOK the Celtic twilight ***

Produced by Carrie Lorenz.  Special thanks to John B. Hare, redactor for this text and significant contributor to its preparation for PG.

THE CELTIC TWILIGHT

by

W. B. YEATS

    Time drops in decay
    Like a candle burnt out. 
    And the mountains and woods
    Have their day, have their day;
    But, kindly old rout
    Of the fire-born moods,
    You pass not away.

    The hosting of the Sidhe

    The host is riding from Knocknarea,
    And over the grave of Clooth-na-bare;
    Caolte tossing his burning hair,
    And Niamh calling, “Away, come away;
    Empty your heart of its mortal dream. 
    The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round,
    Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound,
    Our breasts are heaving, our eyes are a-gleam,
    Our arms are waving, our lips are apart,
    And if any gaze on our rushing band,
    We come between him and the deed of his hand,
    We come between him and the hope of his heart.” 
    The host is rushing ’twixt night and day;
    And where is there hope or deed as fair? 
    Caolte tossing his burning hair,
    And Niamh calling, “Away, come away.”

THIS BOOK

I

I have desired, like every artist, to create a little world out of the beautiful, pleasant, and significant things of this marred and clumsy world, and to show in a vision something of the face of Ireland to any of my own people who would look where I bid them.  I have therefore written down accurately and candidly much that I have heard and seen, and, except by way of commentary, nothing that I have merely imagined.  I have, however, been at no pains to separate my own beliefs from those of the peasantry, but have rather let my men and women, dhouls and faeries, go their way unoffended or defended by any argument of mine.  The things a man has heard and seen are threads of life, and if he pull them carefully from the confused distaff of memory, any who will can weave them into whatever garments of belief please them best.  I too have woven my garment like another, but I shall try to keep warm in it, and shall be well content if it do not unbecome me.

Hope and Memory have one daughter and her name is Art, and she has built her dwelling far from the desperate field where men hang out their garments upon forked boughs to be banners of battle.  O beloved daughter of Hope and Memory, be with me for a little.