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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE FOLLY OF BEING COMFORTED by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Poet Analysis

First Line: ONE THAT IS EVER KIND SAID YESTERDAY
Last Line: YOU'D KNOW THE FOLLY OF BEING COMFORTED.
Subject(s): AGING; LOVE;

One that is ever kind said yesterday:
'Your well-beloved's hair has threads of grey,
And little shadows come about her eyes;
Time can but make it easier to be wise
Though now it's hard, till trouble is at an end;
And so be patient, be wise and patient, friend.'
But heart, there is no comfort, not a grain.
Time can but make her beauty over again
Because of that great nobleness of hers;
The fire that stirs about her, when she stirs,
Burns but more clearly; O she had not these ways
When all the wild summer was in her gaze.
O heart, O heart! if she'd but turn her head,
You'd know the folly of being comforted.



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