William Butler Yeats: The cloak, the boat, and the shoes

«What do you make so fair and bright?»

“I make the cloak of Sorrow:
O lovely to see in all men’s sight
Shall be the cloak of Sorrow,
In all men’s sight.”

«What do you build with sails for flight?»

“I build a boat for Sorrow:
O swift on the seas all day and night
Saileth the rover Sorrow,
All day and night.”

«What do you weave with wool so white?»

“I weave the shoes of Sorrow:
Soundless shall be the footfall light
In all men’s ears of Sorrow, 
Sudden and light.”

William Butler Yeats, Crossways, 1889
Photo: W. B. Yeats, photographed by Edward Steichen for Conde Nast, 1932