I have met them at close of day Coming
with vivid faces From
counter or desk among grey Eighteenth-century
houses. I
have passed with a nod of the head Or
polite meaningless words, Or
have lingered awhile and said Polite
meaningless words, And
thought before I had done Of
a mocking tale or a gibe To
please a companion Around
the fire at the club, Being
certain that they and I But
lived where motley is worn: All
changed, changed utterly: A
terrible beauty is born. That
woman's days were spent In
ignorant good-will, Her
nights in argument Until
her voice grew shrill. What
voice more sweet than hers When,
young and beautiful, She
rode to harriers? This
man had kept a school And
rode our winged horse; This
other his helper and friend Was
coming into his force; He
might have won fame in the end, So
sensitive his nature seemed, So
daring and sweet his thought. This
other man I had dreamed A
drunken, vainglorious lout. He
had done most bitter wrong To
some who are near my heart, Yet
I number him in the song; He,
too, has resigned his part In
the casual comedy; He,
too, has been changed in his turn, Transformed
utterly: A
terrible beauty is born. Hearts
with one purpose alone Through
summer and winter seem Enchanted
to a stone To
trouble the living stream. The
horse that comes from the road. The
rider, the birds that range From
cloud to tumbling cloud, Minute
by minute they change; A
shadow of cloud on the stream Changes
minute by minute; A
horse-hoof slides on the brim, And
a horse plashes within it; The
long-legged moor-hens dive, And
hens to moor-cocks call; Minute
by minute they live: The
stone's in the midst of all. Too
long a sacrifice Can
make a stone of the heart. O
when may it suffice? That
is Heaven's part, our part To
murmur name upon name, As
a mother names her child When
sleep at last has come On
limbs that had run wild. What
is it but nightfall? No,
no, not night but death; Was
it needless death after all? For
England may keep faith For
all that is done and said. We
know their dream; enough To
know they dreamed and are dead; And
what if excess of love Bewildered
them till they died? I
write it out in a verse - MacDonagh
and MacBride And
Connolly and Pearse Now
and in time to be, Wherever
green is worn, Are
changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. |
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