“A thousand ages onward led
Their joys and sorrows to that hour;
No wisdom weighed, no word was said,
For only what we were had power.”

— George William Russell

By Still Waters (1906)
Context: Aye, after victory, the crown;
Yet through the fight no word of cheer;
And what would win and what go down
No word could help, no light make clear.
A thousand ages onward led
Their joys and sorrows to that hour;
No wisdom weighed, no word was said,
For only what we were had power.

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George William Russell 134

Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, and artistic painter 1867–1935

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