The Three Beggars
"Though to my feathers in the wet,
I have stood here from break of day.
I have not found a thing to eat,
For only rubbish comes my way.
Am I to live on lebeen-lone?
'Muttered the old crane of Gort.
"For all my pains on lebeen-lone?
'King Guaire walked amid his court
The palace-yard and river-side
And there to three old beggars said,
"You that have wandered far and wide
Can ravel out what's in my head.
Do men who least desire get most,
Or get the most who most desire?
'A beggar said, "They get the most
Whom man or devil cannot tire,
And what could make their muscles taut
Unless desire had made them so?
'But Guaire laughed with secret thought,
"If that be true as it seems true,
One of you three is a rich man,
For he shall have a thousand pounds
Who is first asleep, if but he can
Sleep before the third noon sounds."
And thereon, merry as a bird
With his old thoughts, King Guaire went
From river-side and palace-yard
And left them to their argument
."And if I win,' one beggar said,
'Though I am old I shall persuade
A pretty girl to share my bed';
The second: "I shall learn a trade';
The third: "I'll hurry' to the course
Among the other gentlemen,
And lay it all upon a horse';
The second: "I have thought again:
A farmer has more dignity.
'One to another sighed and cried:
The exorbitant dreams of beggary.
That idleness had borne to pride,
Sang through their teeth from noon to noon;
And when the sccond twilight brought
The frenzy of the beggars' moon
None closed his blood-shot eyes but sought
To keep his fellows from their sleep;
All shouted till their anger grew
And they were whirling in a heap.
They mauled and bit the whole night through;
They mauled and bit till the day shone;
They mauled and bit through all that day
And till another night had gone,
Or if they made a moment's stay
They sat upon their heels to rail,
And when old Guaire came and stood
Before the three to end this tale,
They were commingling lice and blood
"Time's up,' he cried, and all the three
With blood-shot eyes upon him stared.
"Time's up,' he eried, and all the three
Fell down upon the dust and snored.
`Maybe I shall be lucky yet,
Now they are silent,' said the crane.
`Though to my feathers in the wet
I've stood as I were made of stone
And seen the rubbish run about,
It's certain there are trout somewhere
And maybe I shall take a trout
but I do not seem to care.'
William Butler Yeats
Assinar:
Postar comentários (Atom)
O Tempo seca o Amor
O tempo seca a beleza, seca o amor, seca as palavras. Deixa tudo solto, leve, desunido para sempre como as areias nas águas. O tempo seca a ...

Nos últimos 30 dias.
-
Há as que nasceram nesta casa, Há as que oram como brasa. Elas nos oram em seu ventre. Oram pelos qu...
-
E o homem seguiu entre guizos falsos. Trazia no rosto uma sofreguidão de charcos. Era noite e os fantasmas enl...
-
Lembranças saudosas, se cuidais De me acabar a vida neste estado, Não vivo com meu mal tão enganado, Que não...
-
Navegar em liberdade é ir como não se sabe onde o ímpeto quiser. O corpo viaja na cama e o amor toma carona se no cora...
-
Indomável, invencível, arrogante Como um rio a correr vertiginoso Não te condoes nem mesmo por instante Aos clamores dc ...
-
Temos satélites, e estamos sem órbita Temos celulares, e estamos incomunicáveis Temos conectividade, e não temos afeti...
-
As malas Estão prontas Desde sempre Encostadas Num canto Do meu pensamento O mapa-múndi Aberto Sobre a mesa M...
-
Talvez mais um sonho se acabe, Quando o amor que se cala... Levando um pedaço da alma, É luz de estrela que apaga! ...
-
Por enquanto sou pequeno, muita coisa eu não sei. Eu só sei que estou gostando deste mundo onde eu cheguei....
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário