The Stolen Child by W.B. Yeats

The Stolen Child


WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand

Category:

Education

Tags:

• poetry
• wb yeats
• Ireland
• fairy

[CorporalNym]

Great Posting Harvey. I've known this poem off by heart for years and used to recite it to my lads when they were toddlers, along with MaCavity and Matilda and the Jabberwocky and Albert and the Lion and Tyger Tyger and great lengths of Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest..... Did you know the 'Waterboys' did a version of 'The Stolen Child' on one of their early albums: Fisherman's Blues- just found the Ytube link

com/watch?v=Jg-oJKYIinQ

Nice one

[29harveydinio]

@CorporalNym I am glad you like it. I have to thank you for showing me this poem, I'm new to Yeats and this is indeed a great poem.

Speaking about Midsummer Night Dream. I'm getting a tattoo with my favourite quote of the play.

"Love, looks not with the eyes but with the mind/ And therefore winged cupid is painted blind" With a female cupid/ Angel shooting arrows through an anatomical heart. I can't wait.

thanks for the link I will give it a listen.

[CorporalNym]

@AllyMind5Star Thanks to you I just Ytubed 'The Stolen Child' and found My harpist. Its Loreena McKennit

watch?v=Em70flL8CWw. Now I have it back. I used to play and recite this to our lads when they were infants. I love this version. And now I have a whole host of her stuff to explore on Ytube. Many thanks- I hope you enjoy her version

regards

N

[CorporalNym]

@AllyMind5Star

Found it immediately. Fabulous arrangement -you get the feeling you are in those woods

Pity the sound on the vid on Ytube was distorted and over recorded otherwise I'd have recorded it straight from the vid and made an MP3 of it. Many thanks...

....We seek for slumbering trout

And whispering in their ears

Give them unquiet dreams;

Leaning softly out

From ferns that drop their tears

Over the young streams.

Sublime!

[CorporalNym]

@AllyMind5Star Thanks I will. There is also a recording I used to have sung by a woman to the accompaniment of a harp- but I can't remember her name and I lost the track! Too and fro we leap..... I note that the Waterboys have recently released a cd of the great WB;s poems set to music - I haven't heard it yet. I must get it. Many thanks and regards. Harvey if you read -this I enjoyed the recent sonnet and how're the Tatoos going?

N

[AllyMind5Star]

@CorporalNym If you like this recitement, you might like the poem set to music! Eric Whitacre notated a song set to this poem. Look it up on YouTube.