| I know that I shall meet my fate | |
| Somewhere among the clouds above; | |
| Those that I fight I do not hate, | |
| Those that I guard I do not love; | |
| My country is Kiltartan Cross, | 5 |
| My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor, | |
| No likely end could bring them loss | |
| Or leave them happier than before. | |
| Nor law, nor duty bade me fight | |
| Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, | 10 |
| A lonely impulse of delight | |
| Drove to this tumult in the clouds; | |
| I balanced all, brought all to mind, | |
| The years to come seemed waste of breath, | |
| A waste of breath the years behind | 15 |
| In balance with this life, this death. | |
|
An Irish
Airman Foresees His Death
— The Irish Airman in question was Major Robert Gregory (1881-1918).
Gregory was the only child of Lady Augusta Gregory, who with Yeats and
Edward Martyn founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre. Robert was a star cricket player (he still has one of the lowest bowling
averages — low averages are better, like ERA in baseball —
in Irish history) before the war who played for the national team. He and Yeats were friends. Gregory was killed in action on the Italian
front, a victim of friendly fire when he was mistakenly shot down by an
Italian pilot (the Italians and English were allies). |
|
Those
that I guard — Gregory flew for the Royal Flying Corps. As an Irishman, Gregory had no particular love for the English. The Irish and English had been negotiating to allow Ireland a degree of
independence when the war broke out, and Ireland (most of it anyway) would
finally regain its independence after the war. Yeats was devoted to the cause of Irish independence and became a senator in the Irish Free State, only to see the country fall into civil war. |
|