If this importunate heart trouble your peace
With words lighter than air,
Or hopes that in mere hoping flicker and cease;
Crumple the rose in your hair;
And cover your lips with odorous twilight and say,
‘O Hearts of wind-blown flame!
O Winds, older than changing of night and day,
That murmuring and longing came
From marble cities loud with tabors of old
In dove-grey faery lands;
From battle-banners, fold upon purple fold,
Queens wrought with glimmering hands;
That saw young Niamh hover with love-lorn face
Above the wandering tide;
And lingered in the hidden desolate place
Where the last Phoenix died,
And wrapped the flames above his holy head;
And still murmur and long:
O piteous Hearts, changing till change be dead
In a tumultuous song’:
And cover the pale blossoms of your breast
With your dim heavy hair,
And trouble with a sigh for all things longing for rest
The odorous twilight there.
(William Butler Yeats)
More Poetry from William Butler Yeats:
William Butler Yeats Poems based on Topics: Night, Kings & Queens, Hair- A Man Young And Old (William Butler Yeats Poems)
- A Lover's Quarrel Among the Fairies (William Butler Yeats Poems)
- A Deep-Sworn Vow (William Butler Yeats Poems)
- Running To Paradise (William Butler Yeats Poems)
- A Prayer On Going Into My House (William Butler Yeats Poems)
- Mad As The Mist And Snow (William Butler Yeats Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Kings & Queens Poems, Hair PoemsBased on Keywords: importunate, love-lorn, crumple, niamh, tabors, dove-grey, battle-banners