To Steal a Child

 Where dips the rock-filled high land
 Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
 There lies a leaf green isle, and
 By its shore long-legged birds wake
 The slow-eyed sleek wet rats;
 There we've hid our great elf vats,
 Full of red fruit;
 Our lips drip the juice of our sweet loot.
 Come with us, O earth-born child!
 To the lakes and to the wild
 Hand in hand, with elves now go
 For the world's more full of tears than you should have to know.

 Where the wave of moon's rays shine out
 To gloss dim grey sands with light,
 Far past the marsh we line out
 And we dance all through the night,
 We weave the steps of old,
 Hands we touch and looks we hold
 Till the moon shall take its flight;
 To and fro we leap,
 Chase the foam that floats on air
 While your world groans with its care
 Turns and calls out in its sleep.
 Come with us, O earth-born child!
 To the lakes and to the wild
 Hand in hand, with elves now go
 For the world's more full of tears than you should have to know.

 Where the pure stream roams and runs down
 From the hills that top Glen-Car,
 In rush-ringed pools, when sun's down,
 That scarce could bathe a star,
 We seek the sleep of a trout
 And hiss soft words in their ears,
 Give them fear in their dreams;
 And lean so soft out
 From ferns that drop their tears
 Out o'er the young streams.
 Come with us, O earth-born child!
 To the lakes and to the wild
 Hand in hand, with elves now go
 For the world's more full of tears than you should have to know.

 And now with our band he goes
 The dark eyes wide:
 He'll hear no more when it lows,
 The calf's call on the warm hill's side
 Or the black pot on the hob
 That sings peace to his breast,
 Or see the brown mice bob
 Round and round the black oat chest.
 For he comes, the earth-born child,
 To the lakes and to the wild
 Hand in hand with us he'll go
 From a world more full of tears than he will have to know.

                                -- Will Yeats
                                   (done by Kip W.)

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