Lines by Heart: Where My Books Go by W.B. Yeats

Today's Lines by Heart reading is brought to us by Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Lisa Spurgin. Lisa recites Where My Books Go by W.B. Yeats - put yourself to the test and see if you can memorise this poem too.

For this Lines By Heart challenge, I chose to have a go at learning something by a poet who has long been a favourite of mine. I think I was probably attracted to this poem in particular because of its title – a very Readerly one!

As with a lot of Yeats’ poems, I find there’s real comfort and more than a touch of beauty in here; the idea of words spreading their wings and being a saviour of sorts, not only to sing (in itself a lovely thought) but to console, offer support and to be a kind of lifeboat in the waters (which are hopefully more starry bright than they are storm-darken’d), is one that I find really moving and uplifting.

I hope you enjoy the poem, and perhaps you might have a go at adding it to your own repertoire.

Where My Books Go

All the words that I utter,
And all the words that I write,
Must spread out their wings untiring,
And never rest in their flight,
Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
And sing to you in the night,
Beyond where the waters are moving,
Storm-darken'd or starry bright.

W.B. Yeats