an Irish poem

 and a very well-known one, for St. Patrick's Day.

The Song of Wandering Aengus

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:

It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

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;

And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

-  William Butler Yeats

This poem is the basis for a meditation in Malcolm Guite's book of Lenten poetry, "The Word in the Wilderness". He says:

"We may go on pilgrimage, or wander in the wilderness in pursuit of a vision, but it is also usually the glimpse of a vision, the apprehension of 'something more', the half-heard voice, that seems to call to us in the first place and start us on our journey. ..For Yeats, Aengus represents perhaps not just the poet but every questing soul, and he is the one who retains his vision in spite of never, in this life, having it completely fulfilled. ..For every Christian, there is both a first vision and an unfulfilled 'not yet', and we must all say, in the words of another Irishman also indebted to Yeats, 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for.' ..The poet who thinks he has caught a trout has himself been caught, and will be drawn for the rest of his life on a line of desire and longing. 'And someone called me by my name.' For that is indeed the theme of this poem. Here we come to the heart meaning of the word 'vocation.' A vocation is a calling, and to have a Christian vocation is to have been called, called by name. The Lord of life and love calls us into being, calls us out of darkness into light, and calls us, personally, to turn and begin our lives anew in him."

                                                         -  Malcolm Guite, The Word in the Wilderness