"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. Could be the sky, could be Heaven. 3. Something most servicemen would agree with. 4. No sense of duty at all. 5. A lovely part of Ireland, located on the west coast of Galway. 6. People we can all agree to fight for. 7. But England's difficulty was Ireland's opportunity, remember? 8. Another great line. 9. Ridiculous that laws ever made anyone fight. Conscription...what a a joke. 10. Cheering crowds: Not interested Cheering broads: Different story ;) 11. Fuck this site!!! 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. Great line. 15. Truly, the highpoint of his life. 16. I'll never understand those who chase death.