Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
From The Song of Wandering Aengus
By William Butler Yeats
Happy the man who dreams his purpose
plots his course to achieve that very goal
marches to the beat of his own drum
and pity one forced to follow roads
laid down by parents’ aspirations
but I drifted into adulthood
with no pressure and no direction
and took many turns along the way
slowly grew into the man I am
Though I am old with wandering
Love life is the companion to work
the superficial couplings of youth
conducted with more vigour than sense
reaching the sunny uplands mid-life
settling into a career I thought
would last a lifetime, a love to match
but people carry pasts within them
like hidden rocks in a calm ocean
and accidents deflect one’s passage
Through hollow lands and hilly lands
To know another is a life’s work
the unity of coupledom is
illusion, we travel parallel
at best, learning the geography
of roads built across bogs of trauma
always ready to gently subside
and mire a person in buried past
and paths are hard to find in a slough
of despond and she has lost her way
I will find out where she has gone
Looking back at the path I followed
there is more coherence than I thought
skills grown and transferred in work and life
and love too, so much surer than in youth
and all the scars and breaks accreted
are the medals of experience
and trying not to look toward the end
but focus on the roadside flowers
the next generations we began
And kiss her lips and take her hands…
© Andrew Wilson, 2026
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Björn Rudberg (brudberg) in FormForAll, Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft, invites us to writa a Glosa, a Spanish poetry form in which four lines borrowed from a poem by another – the cabreza, are expanded upon over 4 ten-line stanzas… I chose lines from WB Yeats, who I have loved since studying him at school, and whose poems still resonate with me today. In 1995, I went to live in Sligo, Ireland, where Yeats is from, and is buried beneath nearby Ben Bulben mountain. I was a signwriter and painted a sign and mural of Yeats and his work, for The Winding Stair bookshop there – you can see me working on it in this news clip…
Ah, Yeats, one of my old favourites, Andrew, who kept me company when I was barefoot and pregnant in Ireland. I remember you posted something about the Winding Stair book shop previously. One of my old friends is from Sligo. I especially love your title and the personal, pensive and philosophical tone of your glosa. I too ‘drifted into adulthood / with no pressure and no direction / and took many turns along the way’. How true:
‘settling into a career I thought
would last a lifetime, a love to match
but people carry pasts within them
like hidden rocks in a calm ocean’
and
‘To know another is a life’s work
the unity of coupledom is
illusion, we travel parallel
at best, learning the geography
of roads built across bogs of trauma’.
And such a satisfying ending.
I would like to know more about your years in Ireland, Kim, I knew a group of people who lived up country from Sligo and lived communally, washed clothes on a big rock in a stream – sounds like something similar, perhaps? I am never sure about these philosophical, memoir pieces so I value your feedback…
This is a perfect example of a glosa, and how well you did it explaining your owns journey…. especially when looking back you see
more coherence than I thought
skills grown and transferred in work and life
In the middle we often see erratic movements that with time is changed into a coherent movement.
Thank you indeed, Björn, I did try the form once before (https://how-would-you-know.com/gasoline-and-gold-and-a-glosa-poem/) and I am glad you prompted it again…
Very well written, Andrew! Your thoughts on life and purpose resonate with me. I loved this set of lines in particular…
Love life is the companion to work
the superficial couplings of youth
conducted with more vigour than sense
I often find myself looking back philosophically, as I think you do too, Dwight, – put it down to our age…
This part really stands out for me as a reader. The past seems to travel with us throughout life. We learn from it, hide from it and grow from it.
but people carry pasts within them
like hidden rocks in a calm ocean
and accidents deflect one’s passage
Through hollow lands and hilly lands
This comes from a metaphor I arrived at some 40 years ago with my partner to describe the way we kept bumping into things unexpectedly, as if rowing round in murky water and being unable to see when we were about to hit a rock just below the surface…
As for accidents,in 1999, I had a car crash that broke my hip and left me with a permanent splint to stop my foot dropping. I knew it would affect my health for the rest of my life as in I can’t run (though I can ride a bike)!
Sorry to learn of your accident it must have been painful. Thank you for sharing your story.
Beautiful poem. I watched the video of you painting the mural too. The scenes reflect the era. Great.
It was great fun doing the mural, not to mention getting paid, and it set me up for signwriting work since everybody in the area knew the work! Sadly, The Winding Stair bookshop was not a sufficient success and closed after some years and the subsequent shop painted out the mural – a lesson in non-attachment…
That’s a pity. Any type of business may stand to gain with an association with Yeats.
Wonderful glosa, Andrew! I particularly loved:
“but people carry pasts within them
like hidden rocks in a calm ocean
and accidents deflect one’s passage
Through hollow lands and hilly lands”
Serendipity philosophised… Thanks Sara!
What beautiful reflective glosa, Andrew! Some great life lessons in it. And who doesn’t love Yeats!
Thanks for sharing the video. Is there anything you can’t do?
Thanks Punam, in answer to your question – never been great at making oodles of money lol…
A calm and reflective write, Andrew. I especially liked these lines:
To know another is a life’s work
the unity of coupledom is
illusion, we travel parallel
at best…
Nicely done 👏
Thanks Shaun, at my age, it takes a lot to get beyond calm and reflective…