by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE ITA
How can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and man's alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!

Note: the poem has the following epigraph: "In our time the destiny of man presents its meanings in political terms" - Thomas Mann.

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Politique", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Politica", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-02-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 65