"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things." - Lewis Carroll

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

by W.B Yeats

1. I know that I shall meet my fate
 2. Somewhere among the clouds above;
 3. Those that I fight I do not hate,
 4. Those that I guard I do not love;
5. My country is Kiltartan Cross,
 6. My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
 7. No likely end could bring them loss
 8. Or leave them happier than before.
 9. Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
 10. Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
 11. A lonely impulse of delight
 12. Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
 13. I balanced all, brought all to mind,
 14. The years to come seemed waste of breath,
 15. A waste of breath the years behind
 16. In balance with this life, this death.

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Click on a line to see some annotations. 1. I believe this suggests that death was coming to him one way or another. 2. I'm surprised people like this would even get in the sky. He's not interested to the glory of battle and his deathwish wouldn't exactly inspire confidence in how much effort he'd put in with the whole fighting back part of the war. 3. Why would anyone hate fights? 4. Hey, we all have our reasons to fight. He's no different. 5. A lovely part of Ireland, located on the west coast of Galway. 6. Hfrtj 7. But England's difficulty was Ireland's opportunity, remember? 8. Bit harsh to suggest that the Irish are that selfish. All war deaths are tragic. 9. Ridiculous that laws ever made anyone fight. Conscription...what a a joke. 10. Charlie is a tough motherucker 11. We're all guilty of loving the odd spot of adrenalin. 12. The duels between air aces in the first world war were famed, and the pilots often regarded as heroes. 13. If I was the pilot in this poem, I wouldn't be making rational decisions unless I had a bottle of Jameson taken. 14. A disturbing thought. A growing one with young people nowadays, something I worry about. 15. A waste of breath; the war that was being fought. 16. I'll see you in Valhalla, fictional poem pilot!