BECAUSE there is safety in derision
I talked about an apparition,
I took no trouble to convince,
Or seem plausible to a man of sense.
Distrustful of thar popular eye
Whether it be bold or sly.
Fifteen apparitions have I seen;
The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger.
I have found nothing half so good
As my long-planned half solitude,
Where I can sit up half the night
With some friend that has the wit
Not to allow his looks to tell
When I am unintelligible.
Fifteen apparitions have I seen;
The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger.
When a man grows old his joy
Grows more deep day after day,
His empty heart is full at length,
But he has need of all that strength
Because of the increasing Night
That opens her mystery and fright.
Fifteen apparitions have I seen;
The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger.
Back to William Butler Yeats
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Comments2This poem really resonates with me, I can feel the comfort in solitude as we age and the joy growing deeper each day. Also, the mysteriousness of the apparitions keeps me intrigued.
MAN, THIS POEM REALLY SPEAKS TO ME! IT REVEALS THE REALITIES OF AGING - THE ENJOYMENT OF SOLITUDE, THE MYSTERY OF THE UNKNOWN, AND THE CURIOUS PHENOMENON OF APPARITIONS. IT ALSO SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT HUMANS' CAPACITY FOR DENIAL. BUT WOW, THOSE LAST LINES WERE A WHIRLWIND. GOING TO DIGEST THIS AND THINK ON IT A BIT. GOTTA SAY THOUGH, THIS POEM REALLY MADE ME THINK.