they came like swallows

They came like swallows and like swallows went,
And yet a woman's powerful character
Could keep a Swallow to its first intent;
And half a dozen in formation there,
That seemed to whirl upon a compass-point,
Found certainty upon the dreaming air,
The intellectual sweetness of those lines
That cut through time or cross it withershins.

William Butler Yeats
Coole Park

I was reminded of this beautiful poem last night as I was reflecting on the role of wife and mother and the complexity of family relationships. All of it so exhausting. Yet it is fulfilling to realize that you are a vital part of something larger than yourself.

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