The Green Helmet and Other Poems: watercolour book cover

A collection of poems

The Green Helmet and Other Poems

191021 poems

Cuala Press, Churchtown, Dundrum, December 1910 (400 copies); enlarged edition Macmillan, New York, October 1912.

  1. 1His DreamI swayed upon the gaudy sternIn a dream, a steersman joins a crowd hailing a shrouded corpse as Death.
  2. 2A Woman Homer sungIf any man drew nearAn ageing poet hopes his verse has captured a woman worthy of Homer.
  3. 3WordsI had this thought awhile ago,A poet realises his unreturned love is what drove him to write.
  4. 4No Second TroyWhy should I blame her that she filled my daysYeats refuses to blame the woman he loves for being who she is.
  5. 5ReconciliationSome may have blamed you that you took awayA poet welcomes back a lost love who took his true subject away.
  6. 6King and no King"Would it were anything but merely voice!"A lover mourns the everyday closeness lost to a hasty pledge.
  7. 7PeaceAh, that Time could touch a formTime brings peace to a stormy, heroic beauty, at a cost.
  8. 8Against Unworthy PraiseO heart, be at peace, becauseA poet tells his heart to scorn the praise of fools.
  9. 9The Fascination of What's DifficultThe fascination of what's difficultA poet curses the theatre work that has drained his joy.
  10. 10A Drinking SongWine comes in at the mouthA short toast on wine, love and the little we can know.
  11. 11The Coming of Wisdom with TimeThough leaves are many, the root is one;An ageing man likens himself to a tree that withers into truth.
  12. 12On hearing that the Students of our New University have joined the Agitation against Immoral LiteratureWhere, where but here have Pride and Truth,Yeats mocks students who join a crusade against immoral books.
  13. 13To a Poet, who would have me Praise certain Bad Poets, Imitators of His and MineYou say, as I have often given tongueYeats refuses to praise the poets who copy his style.
  14. 14The Mask"Put off that mask of burning goldTwo lovers argue over whether to look behind a golden mask.
  15. 15Upon a House shaken by the Land AgitationHow should the world be luckier if this house,Yeats defends a great country house threatened by land reform.
  16. 16At the Abbey TheatreDear Craoibhin Aoibhin, look into our case.Yeats asks Douglas Hyde how to please a fickle theatre audience.
  17. 17These are the CloudsThese are the clouds about the fallen sun,A friend is consoled that greatness endures even as it declines.
  18. 18At Galway RacesThere where the course is,Watching the races, Yeats longs for an age of horsemen and poets.
  19. 19A Friend's IllnessSickness brought me thisA friend's illness teaches that one soul outweighs the whole world.
  20. 20All Things can tempt MeAll things can tempt me from this craft of verse:A poet, weary of his craft, wishes to be cold as a fish.
  21. 21Brown PennyI whispered, "I am too young."A young man tosses a penny to decide whether to fall in love.