Poem by William Butler Yeats

Men Improve with the Years

I AM worn out with dreams;
A weather-worn, marble triton
Among the streams;
And all day long I look
Upon this lady's beauty
As though I had found in a book
A pictured beauty,
Pleased to have filled the eyes
Or the discerning ears,
Delighted to be but wise,
For men improve with the years;
And yet, and yet,
Is this my dream, or the truth?
O would that we had met
When I had my burning youth!
But I grow old among dreams,
A weather-worn, marble triton
Among the streams. 

1. The Consolation
2. Against Unworthy Praise
3. The Fascination of What's Difficult
4. To a Poet, Who Would Have Me Praise Certain Bad Poets, Imitators of His and Mine
5. A Friend's Illness

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