我黎明起身屈膝吹火，
等待火苗兒閃爍發光；
然後我必須洗掃烘烤，
直到群星又眨眼初上；
而年青人卻久臥在床，
蒙綢蓋緞甜蜜入夢鄉；
哪怕風卷頭髮也嘆氣，
以懶惰打發美好時光；
因為我老就應當工作，
與火苗領會微弱淡涼。

The Song Of The Old Mother

I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow
Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow;
And then I must scrub and bake and sweep
Till stars are beginning to blink and peep;
And the young lie long and dream in their bed
Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head,
And their day goes over in idleness,
And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress:
While I must work because I am old,
And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold.

---By William Butler Yeats (愛爾蘭，1865-1939)