WHEN the flaming lute-thronged angelic door is wide;
When an immortal passion breathes in mortal clay;
Our hearts endure the scourge, the plaited thorns, the way
Crowded with bitter faces, the wounds in palm and side,
The vinegar-heavy sponge, the flowers by Kedron stream;
We will bend down and loosen our hair over you,
That it may drop faint perfume, and be heavy with dew,
Lilies of death-pale hope, roses of passionate dream.
More verses by William Butler Yeats
- The Lover Speaks To The Hearers Of His Songs In Coming Days
- The Rose Tree
- The Wanderings Of Oisin: Book I
- Those Images
- The Players Ask For A Blessing On The Psalteries And On Themselves