Collected Poems

Collected Poems  – A quintessential early lyric expressing a deep longing for rural peace and solitude. The speaker imagines building a small cabin on an island to escape the “pavements grey” of city life. Addressed to his muse Maud Gonne, the poem warns that while many love her for her “glad grace” and beauty, only the speaker loves her “pilgrim soul.” It is a poignant meditation on the permanence of true love versus the transience of physical beauty.