An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - W B Yeats
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds.
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
"An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" is a poem by W.B. Yeats that reflects on the nature of war and the motivations of those who participate in it. The poem is narrated by an Irish airman, who contemplates his impending death with a sense of detachment and inevitability. The airman acknowledges that he has no strong patriotic or ideological reasons for fighting; instead, he is motivated by a desire for excitement and the thrill of flying. The poem explores the contrast between the romanticized notion of war and the grim reality of mortality, suggesting that personal motivations for joining a conflict may not always align with the larger political or national causes. The airman accepts his fate with a stoic resignation, highlighting the complex and often ambiguous nature of individual sacrifice in the context of war.
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