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by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

I went out to the hazel wood
NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view
Language: English 
Our translations:  CHI FRE GER
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   J. Edmunds 

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes
First published in Sketch, August 1897, revised 1899, renamed "Song of Wandering Aengus"

Text Authorship:

  • by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "A mad song" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Go to the general view


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2007-05-02
Line count: 24
Word count: 167

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