Poem by William Butler Yeats

A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety

COME swish around, my pretty punk,
And keep me dancing still
That I may stay a sober man
Although I drink my fill.

Sobriety is a jewel
That I do much adore;
And therefore keep me dancing
Though drunkards lie and snore.
O mind your feet, O mind your feet,
Keep dancing like a wave,
And under every dancer
A dead man in his grave.
No ups and downs, my pretty,
A mermaid, not a punk;
A drunkard is a dead man,
And all dead men are drunk. 

1. The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner
2. The Indian upon God
3. The Collar-Bone of a Hare
4. The Scholars
5. In Memory of Major Robert Gregory

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