A
Mermaid found a swimming lad,Poems and Sonnets
A
Mermaid found a swimming lad,
Picked him for her own,
Pressed her body to his body,
Laughed ; and plunged down
Forgot in Cruel happiness
That even lovers drown
When
you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look,
Your eyes had once, and their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled\And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
William Butler Yeats