W.B. Yeats (1865–1939). Responsibilities and Other Poems. 1916.

32. Closing Rhymes

WHILE I, from that reed-throated whisperer

Who comes at need, although not now as once

A clear articulation in the air

But inwardly, surmise companions

Beyond the fling of the dull ass’s hoof,

—Ben Jonson’s phrase—and find when June is come

At Kyle-na-no under that ancient roof

A sterner conscience and a friendlier home,

I can forgive even that wrong of wrongs,

Those undreamt accidents that have made me

—Seeing that Fame has perished this long while

Being but a part of ancient ceremony—

Notorious, till all my priceless things

Are but a post the passing dogs defile.