Others because you did not keep
 That deep-sworn vow have been friends of mine;
 Yet always when I look death in the face,
 When I clamber to the heights of sleep,
 Or when I grow excited with wine,
 Suddenly I meet your face.

This poem - taken from The Wild Swans at Coole (1919) - showcases the maturity of Yeats’ later work, and his distinctive brand of genius. With a master conjurer’s dexterity, Yeats tells a story in a six simple lines that become breathtaking when put together.

Trying to express my thoughts on this poem leaves me feeling absolutely inadequate, but I cannot let it go without a salute. So here it is.

The call of these few compelling lines is powerful and intimate, utterly human and almost sacred. The reader is directly drawn into a deep relationship with the narrator, yet one that is infused with the guilt of having broken “that deep-sworn vow”. But before one can fully assimilate the impact, one is quietly brought face-to-face with the inescapable truth of the final line. The inherent loneliness in this poem is ignored - it does not rave or rant, or cry out. It simply is. The two aspects of this relationship are not meant to be reconciled.

And because its soul-searing intensity must have came from the poet’s innermost being, I like to think that he remains immortal in this poem.

— Kamalika