He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heaven’s embroided cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I’ll spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

-William Butler Yeats
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If there’s a love poem that will capture my heart, it is this. Issues of sincerity aside, one has to admit that the octave is immediately captivating. Here ‘the blue and the dim and the dark’ firmaments are likened to ‘embroidered cloths’, upon which the diaphanous ‘golden’ sunlight and ‘silver’ moonbeams are weaved. Evoking images of wonderfully precious Persian tapestry, the narrator’s generous offer to lay such beauty at his lover’s feet is seductive; but when, on account of his poverty, he offers his dreams in place of such wonder, one cannot help but be filled with rapture. The smooth iambic pentameter of the poem contributes to its lucid beauty, enriching the idea of the narrator’s all encompassing, undying devotion. Even what would have been mundane repetitions are transformed into ardent reiteration of affection. Internal rhymes like ‘Of night and light and the half-light’ lend a sense of fantastical mystery that embodies the narrator’s unfading love. In particular, I am ensnared by the image of “half-light” which makes me think of an ever receding horizon that marks the interminable growth of adoration. With someone baring his soul and laying his love at your feet, I believe one must have a wooden heart not to have it melt before this poem.

This poems has been set to art song. Here's a sample - Cloths of Heaven

Anon.