Though leaves are many, the root is one;
Through all the lying days of my youth
I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;
Now I may wither into the truth.

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in McClure's Magazine, December 1910, revised same year

Text Authorship:

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

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Robert William Jones (1932 - 1997), "The coming of wisdom with time", published 1973 [ satb chorus a cappella ], motet [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Moravec (b. 1957), "The coming of wisdom with time", from Vita Brevis, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Francis Schwartz (b. 1940), "Wisdom" [ low voice and tape ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-09-19
Line count: 4
Word count: 32