We who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Silence and love,
And the dew-dropping hours of the night,
And the stars above:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Rest far from men,
Is anything better, anything better?
Tell us it then:
Us who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told.
- W. B. Yeats -