The University of Kansas Libraries

Lines Written in Dejection

by William Butler Yeats

When have I last looked on
The round green eyes and the long wavering bodies
Of the dark leopards of the moon?
All the wild witches, those most noble ladies,
For all their broom-sticks and their tears,
Their angry tears, are gone.
The holy centaurs of the hills are vanished;
I have nothing but the embittered sun;
Banished heroic mother moon and vanished,
And now that I have come to fifty years
I must endure the timid sun.

Did you know? The William Butler Yeats collection at Spencer Research Library is a remarkably rich one: it contains all of Yeats’ works in first edition except the scarce “Mosada” (1886) and “The Hour-Glass” (1903), with many later and variant editions and printings; books edited or containing contributions by Yeats; dozens of books from his personal library (including copies of his own works with his annotations) and even the published “Debates of the Irish Parliament” in which Yeats was a senator. Visit Spencer Research Library and learn more.

Read more poems by William Butler Yeats at Bartleby.com.

KU Libraries collections contain more than 28,000 books of or about poetry. Throughout April, a special selection of poetry books will be available for checkout in Watson Library near the 3rd floor service desk. Come check it out!

Return to KU Libraries Poem-a-Day main page.