Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Poet Analysis

First Line: YOU WAVES, THOUGH YOU DANCE BY MY FEET LIKE CHILDREN AT PLAY
Last Line: WHEN I WAS A BOY WITH NEVER A CRACK IN MY HEART.
Subject(s): FISH & FISHING; ANGLERS;

You waves, though you dance by my feet like children at play,
Though you glow and you glance, though you purr and you dart;
In the Junes that were warmer than these are, the waves
were more gay,
@3When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.@1

The herring are not in the tides as they were of old;
My sorrow! for many a creak gave the creel in the cart
That carried the take to Sligo town to be sold,
@3When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.@1

And ah, you proud maiden, you are not so fair when his oar
Is heard on the water, as they were, the proud and apart,
Who paced in the eve by the nets on pebbly shore,
@3When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.@1



Home: PoetryExplorer.net