Poetry  |  Yeats  |  A Woman Young and Old  |  Parting

A Woman Young and Old — Parting

He. Dear, I must be gone
    While night shuts the eyes
    Of the household spies;
    That song announces dawn.
She. No, night’s bird and love’s
    Bids all true lovers rest,
    While his loud song reproves
    The murderous stealth of day.
He. Daylight already flies
    From mountain crest to crest.
She. That light is from the moon.
He. That bird …
She.                 Let him sing on,
    I offer to love’s play
    My dark declivities.