The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear;
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terrors that I bore
The Heavens in my womb.
Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows
Chimney corner, garden walk,
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk?
What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
The fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?
W.B. Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939).
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.
(Image by Sean Jefferson, courtesy David Messum Fine Art.)
<br><br><em>The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare</em>
<em>Through the hollow of an ear;</em>
<em>Wings beating about the room;</em>
<em><em>The terror of all terrors that I bore</em> <br><br><em>The Heavens in my womb.</em><br><br></em>
<em><br>Had I not found content among the shows<br><br>Every common woman knows<br><br>Chimney corner, garden walk,<br><br>Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes<br><br>And gather all the talk?</em>
<em><br></em>
<em>What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,<br></em><em><br>The fallen star my milk sustains,<br><br>This love that makes my heart's blood stop<br><br>Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones</em>
<em>And bids my hair stand up?</em><br><br><br>W.B. Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939).<br><br><br><em>On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me</em><br><em>Seven swans a swimming,<br>Six <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781016"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">geese a laying</mark></a>,<br>Five <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781790&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">gold rings</mark></a>,<br>Four <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=780935"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">calling birds</mark></a>,<br>Three <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=780856&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">French hens</mark></a>,<br>Two <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781060&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">turtle doves</mark></a>, and</em><br><em>A <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-first-day-of-christmas-my-true-love-sent-to-me/?swcfpc=1">partridge in a pear tree</a></mark></em>.
(Image by Sean Jefferson, courtesy <a href="https://www.messums.com/exhibitions/viewworks/871/Sean%20Jefferson%202023"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">David Messum Fine Art</mark></a>.)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats"></a>
The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear;
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terrors that I bore
The Heavens in my womb.
Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows
Chimney corner, garden walk,
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk?
What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
The fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?
W.B. Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939).
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.
(Image by Sean Jefferson, courtesy David Messum Fine Art.)
<br><br><em>The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare</em>
<em>Through the hollow of an ear;</em>
<em>Wings beating about the room;</em>
<em><em>The terror of all terrors that I bore</em> <br><br><em>The Heavens in my womb.</em><br><br></em>
<em><br>Had I not found content among the shows<br><br>Every common woman knows<br><br>Chimney corner, garden walk,<br><br>Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes<br><br>And gather all the talk?</em>
<em><br></em>
<em>What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,<br></em><em><br>The fallen star my milk sustains,<br><br>This love that makes my heart's blood stop<br><br>Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones</em>
<em>And bids my hair stand up?</em><br><br><br>W.B. Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939).<br><br><br><em>On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me</em><br><em>Seven swans a swimming,<br>Six <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781016"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">geese a laying</mark></a>,<br>Five <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781790&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">gold rings</mark></a>,<br>Four <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=780935"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">calling birds</mark></a>,<br>Three <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=780856&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">French hens</mark></a>,<br>Two <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/?p=781060&preview=true"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">turtle doves</mark></a>, and</em><br><em>A <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-first-day-of-christmas-my-true-love-sent-to-me/?swcfpc=1">partridge in a pear tree</a></mark></em>.
(Image by Sean Jefferson, courtesy <a href="https://www.messums.com/exhibitions/viewworks/871/Sean%20Jefferson%202023"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">David Messum Fine Art</mark></a>.)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats"></a>
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