The Fairy Pendant

Scene:- A circle of Druidic Stones

First Fairy. Afar from our lawn and our levee,
O sister of sorrowful gaze!
Where the roses in scarlet are heavy
And dream of the end of their days,
You move in another dominion
And hang o'er the historied stone:
Unpruned is your beautiful pinion
Who wander and whisper alone.

All. Come away while the moon's in the woodland
We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.
Though youngest of all in our band,
You are wasting away, little fairy.

Second Fairy. Ah! cruel ones, leave me alone now
While I murmur a little and ponder
The history here in the stone now;
Then away and away will I wander,
And measure the minds of the flowers,
And gaze on the meadow-mice wary,
And number their days and their hours--

All. You are wasting away, little fairy.

Second Fairy. Ah! leave me, I pray you and beg.
My mother drew forth from the long grass
A piece of nightingale's egg,
And cradled me here where are sung,
Of birds even, longings for aery
Wild wisdoms of spirit and tongue.

All. You are wasting away, little fairy.

First Fairy (turning away). Though tenderest roses
were round you
The soul of a pitiless place
With pitiless magic has bound you--
Ah! woe for the loss of your face,
And loss of your laugh and its lightness--
Ah! woe for your wings and your head--
Ah! woe for your eyes and their brightness--
Ah! woe for your slippers of red.

All. Come away while the moon's in the woodland
We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.
Though youngest of all in our band,
You are wasting away, little fairy.

~by W. B. Yeats