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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

Fallen Majesty

William Butler Yeats

Although crowds gathered once if she but showed her face,
And even old men’s eyes grew dim, this hand alone,
Like some last courtier at a gypsy camping-place
Babbling of fallen majesty, records what’s gone.

These lineaments, a heart that laughter has made sweet,
These, these remain, but I record what’s gone.  A crowd
Will gather, and not know it walks the very street
Whereon a thing once walked that seemed a burning cloud.
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Responsibilities | 1914
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