“I am a poet seeking shelter.”

A plain declaration of identity that turns a practical need into an assertion of vocation. · Spoken at a door while searching for a rival poet, as recounted in folklore collected by Lady Gregory (Irish Gaelic)

• Hospitality
• Identity
• Poetry

“The Church and myself have it made out that it was not Death that was there, but the devil that came to tempt me.”

A final defiant re-interpretation of an earlier vision, asserting control over his own spiritual narrative even at the end. · Deathbed reply to a visitor, as recorded in oral accounts collected by Lady Gregory and Douglas Hyde (Irish Gaelic)

• Death
• Defiance
• Faith

“Well planed you are; the carpenter that planed you knew his trade.”

Original: B’fhearr liom go mór imirt is ól, ná maidin Domhnaigh triall chun Aifrinn. — A light, appreciative compliment that shows the blind poet’s sharp ear for form and his readiness to praise beauty he could only sense. · Conversation at a dance, as reported in oral tradition collected by Lady Gregory (Irish Gaelic)

• Beauty
• Courtesy
• Wit