The Song of Wandering Aengus

                                                                                   -          William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

The speaker says that he had gone to the jungle because he had a fire (desire) in his head. He cut and peeled a branch of hazel tree to make a stick. He hooked a berry to a thread. It was night time. White moths were flying in the air. The stars were twinkling in the sky. He dropped the berry in a stream. When a silver fish came near to eat the berry, he caught it.

He put the fish on the ground and started to kindle a fire. But suddenly he heard a rustling sound on the floor. He heard that somebody was calling him by his name. As he turned round, he saw that the fish had been changed into ‘a glimmering girl’. She had a flower of apple on her hair. She called the speaker by his name and ran away. She disappeared into the air.

The speaker now says that he is old because of wandering around different places, but is determined to find the girl again. When he finds her, he will catch her hands and kiss her lips. He will take her to the field of high grass and love her till he is fully satisfied. He will love her all night and day, i.e. till eternity.