Book Beginning: The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS
THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING



The woods of Arcady are dead,
And over is their antique joy
Of old the world on dreaming fed;
Grey Truth is now her Painted toy;

-- from "The Song of the Happy Shepherd," the first poem in The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats. Since we are heading into St. Patrick's Day weekend, it seems a good day to feature an Irish poet. I've been working my way through this book for a couple of years. I keep it on my table at work and try to read one poem every day. I can't say the first poem in the book is my favorite!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING




TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.

-- from "For Anne Gregory." This is my favorite Yeats poem, so I cheated a bit to include it here because it is not on page 56. I've always kept this last stanza taped to my desk. I think of it as a reminder of the fickleness of the human heart and a warning against vanity. Or something like that.