PoemA Drunken Man’s Praise Of Sobriety
Author / PoetWilliam Butler Yeats

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.

William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
13 Jun 1865 - 28 Jan 1939
Region: Irish, Northern Europe
Period: Modernist
Movement: Irish Literary Revival, Symbolism
Awards: Nobel Prize in Literature

more poems by William Butler Yeats

Poem NameTopic
Summer And SpringOld, Spring, Summer
The Ballad Of Father GilliganForgive
The Empty CupOld, Young
The Death Of The HareDeath, Old, Wildness
The Friends Of His YouthOld, Pride, Young
The Lake Isle Of InnisfreeLake
The MermaidHappiness, Lovers, Mermaid
The Secrets Of The OldOld, Young
The Stolen ChildChild, Stolen
The Wild Swans At CooleBeauty, Twilight, Wing

all poems by William Butler Yeats

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