Classic Poem

Among the places old and new
That I have wished to travel to
Is that compounded Tear and Smile
Which people call the Emerald Isle.
And of the prospect I shall find
I have a picture in my mind—
Of moor and meadow, glen and bog,
Of hill and wood, and sea and fog,
And all that fancy understands
By “hollow lands and hilly lands.”

These Irish landscapes I can see
When Lady Gregory talks to me.
The quiet of the lakes and skies
Is in her deep and tranquil eyes;
The dreams of a poetic race
Are in her wise and kindly face;
And when she smiles I have the key
To Irish wit and jollity,
And music from the merry heart
In hedge and cabin, field and cart.

Dear lady, when upon a day
To Ireland's coast I take my way,
Familiar pictures I shall find—
Already they are stored in mind.
No need to journey oversea;
You bring the Irish land to me.