All things can tempt me from this craft of verse:
One time it was a woman's face, or worse -
The seeming needs of my fool-driven land;
Now nothing but comes readier to the hand
Than this accustomed toil.  When I was young,
I had not given a penny for a song
Did not the poet Sing it with such airs
That one believed he had a sword upstairs;
Yet would be now, could I but have my wish,
Colder and dumber and deafer than a fish.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 2113 times | Comments (0)

Poet: William Butler Yeats
Poem: All Things Can Tempt Me
Volume: The Green Helmet and Other Poems
Year: Published/Written in 1910
Poem of the Day on:
Oct 5 2004
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, All Things Can Tempt Me, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Butler Yeats with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!