“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