A Terrible Beauty

Easter, 1916
by William Butler Yeats

I have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
….

Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
….

Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.


Easter, 2016

It is said that an historic event’s centenary is the point at which that occurrence passes from living memory and becomes a construct of historical record, speculation, and myth.

Ireland enters its “decade of centenaries” this month starting with a remembrance of the Easter Rising of 1916. At that time a courageous band of Irish men and women in Dublin and in Cork challenged the right of England to continue its rule of Ireland.

The leaders of the rebellion in Dublin published the Poblacht na hEireann declaring, “IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.”

The Irish nation and its supporters from around the world are gathering in Dublin this Easter to remember and celebrate the sacrifices of 1916 which led, eventually, to Ireland’s freedom and independence from England. We will be there too, and we’ll post our experiences, thoughts, and photos right here. Won’t you join us?

We are also taking the advice of our dear friend, Jan, to throw caution to the wind so, who knows what deviltry we will find! Slainte!

Kate and Mike