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, those that I guard I do not love.
My county is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No end likely could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before. It won't make them better either.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds.
A lonely impulse of some delight, drove to this tumult in the clouds. Now is a slight joy, drives me straight to the sky .
I balance all brought all to mind, the sea of clouds rises and falls, the past calendar is vivid in my mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath, the future seemed lost,
A waste of breath the years behind.
In balance with this life, this death.
— Yeats
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