Another Song Of A Fool

William Butler Yeats

This great purple butterfly,
In the prison of my hands,
Has a learning in his eye
Not a poor fool understands.

Once he lived a schoolmaster
With a stark, denying look;
A string of scholars went in fear
Of his great birch and his great book.

Like the clangour of a bell,
Sweet and harsh, harsh and sweet.
That is how he learnt so well
To take the roses for his meat.

Next 10 Poems

• William Butler Yeats : Are You Content?
• William Butler Yeats : At Aleciras -- A Meditaton Upon Death
• William Butler Yeats : At Algeciras - A Meditaton Upon Death
• William Butler Yeats : At Galway Races
• William Butler Yeats : At The Abbey Theatre
• William Butler Yeats : Baile And Aillinn
• William Butler Yeats : Beautiful Lofty Things
• William Butler Yeats : Before The World Was Made
• William Butler Yeats : Beggar To Beggar Cried
• William Butler Yeats : Blood And The Moon

Previous 10 Poems

• William Butler Yeats : Anashuya And Vijaya
• William Butler Yeats : An Irish Airman Forsees His Death
• William Butler Yeats : An Image From A Past Life
• William Butler Yeats : An Appointment
• William Butler Yeats : An Acre Of Grass
• William Butler Yeats : Among School Children
• William Butler Yeats : Alternative Song For The Severed Head In `the King Of The Great Clock Tower'
• William Butler Yeats : Alternative Song For The Severd Head In The King Of The Great Clock Tower
• William Butler Yeats : All Things Can Tempt Me
• William Butler Yeats : All Souls' Night