25. Friends. Yeats, W. B. 1916. Responsibilities and Other Poems

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

25. Friends

NOW must I these three praise—
Three women that have wrought
What joy is in my days;
One that no passing thought,
Nor those unpassing cares,	5
No, not in these fifteen
Many times troubled years,
Could ever come between
Heart and delighted heart;
And one because her hand	10
Had strength that could unbind
What none can understand,
What none can have and thrive,
Youth’s dreamy load, till she
So changed me that I live	15
Labouring in ecstasy.
And what of her that took
All till my youth was gone
With scarce a pitying look?
How could I praise that one?	20
When day begins to break
I count my good and bad,
Being wakeful for her sake,
Remembering what she had,
What eagle look still shows,	25
While up from my heart’s root
So great a sweetness flows
I shake from head to foot.