Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Photograph of William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939. Photograph of William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939.

Aedh wishes for the cloths of heaven is a poem by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). It was first published in 1899 in The Wind Among the Reeds. The title of the poem is sometimes shortened to Cloths of Heaven. The narrator of the poem is Aedh, who appears in various poems. Aedh was regarded by Yeats as being a pale, lovelorn man who languishes in love.

See also the TRC Needles entries on Elizabeth Corbet Yeats; Lily Yeats Embroidery competition and Susan Mary Yeats.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 8 July 2016).

GVE

 

Aedh wishes for the cloths of heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Last modified on Friday, 19 May 2017 18:38
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