My love is in a light attire
Among the apple trees,
Where the gay winds do most desire
To run in companies.
There, where the gay winds stay to woo
The young leaves as they pass,
My love goes slowly, bending to
Her shadow on the grass.
And where the sky's a pale blue cup
Over the laughing land,
My love goes lightly, holding up
Her dress with dainty hand.
1904
Oscar Wilde:
Magdalen Walks
The little white clouds are racing over the sky,
And the fields are strewn with the gold of the flower of March,
The daffodil breaks under foot, and the tasselled larch
Sways and swings as the thrush goes hurrying by.
A delicate odour is borne on the wings of the morning breeze,
The odour of leaves, and of grass, and of newly upturned earth,
The birds are singing for joy of the Spring's glad birth,
Hopping from branch to branch on the rocking trees.
And all the woods are alive with the murmur and sound of Spring,
And the rose-bud breaks into pink on the climbing briar,
And the crocus-bed is a quivering moon of fire
Girdled round with the belt of an amethyst ring.
And the plane to the pine-tree is whispering some tales of love
Till it rustles with laughter and tosses its mantle of green,
And the gloom of the wych-elm's hollow is lit with the iris sheen
Of the burnished rainbow throat and the silver breast of a dove.
See! the lark starts up from his bed in the meadow there,
Breaking the gossamer threads and the nets of dew,
And flashing adown the river, a flame of blue!
The kingfisher flies like an arrow, and wounds the air.
1881
W.B. Yeats:
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
Biographies
James Joyce (1882-1941): Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland. Although he wrote many poems, he is best known for his novels, Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Finnegan's Wake, and his collection of short stories, Dubliners. He and his family lived in poverty, often supported by the American poet, Ezra Pound. Joyce was considered in his day to be a genius of modern stream of consciousness literature.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900): Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. While at Oxford, he was awarded the Newdigate Prize for his long poem, Ravenna. He was a fierce proponent of the aesthetic movement, which called for beauty in art. Wilde is best known for his comedy play, The Importance of Being Earnest, which is still performed today. His remarkable novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was made into a cinematic film, featuring a young Angela Lansbury. In spite of his marriage to Constance Lloyd and fathering two children, Wilde was charged with "gross indecency" in 1895 and imprisoned in Reading Gaol from 1895 to 1897 for his intimate relationship with fellow poet, Lord Alfred Douglas. As a result, Wilde became known as a scandalous figure in Irish-English literature.
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939): Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland. He sought to return Ireland to its original Celtic roots and actively supported the Celtic Revival movement. He often based his writings on Irish mythology and folklore. He was strongly influenced by American poet Ezra Pound but never abandoned classic forms of poetry. In 1922, he became a Senator for the Irish Free State. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize. He is considered one of Ireland's most important poets.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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