The line above is from "Politics" by William Butler Yeats.
It's a short poem that sets the writer's priorities straight.
Forget politics and forget war. Oh to be just young again and resting in the arms of a loved one.
All the leaders of the world should read this offering by one of the greatest masters of the poetic art.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin would probably nod in agreement with the core sentiment of the poem.
During his Saint Patrick's Day sojourn in America he has been focused on a bowl of shamrock, a symbol of peace and love and a gift for the American president.
Martin did so even as he flew Ireland's flag in a number of contexts: cultural, diplomatic, business and so forth.
But war kept coming up.
This is not surprising given the state of the world.
In Philadelphia, where he took part in the city's Saint Patrick's Day parade, Martin was asked about U.S. military flights transiting through Shannon Airport and flying through Irish airspace.
This is a continuous and common enough occurrence.
When it is peaceful most don't take much notice.
But when there is a war going on, and especially one involving the United States, some do sit up and take notice.
So Martin was asked about Shannon.
He told reporters that the Irish government has no evidence that weapons and supplies for the U.S. attacks on Iran are being transported through Irish airspace.
However, according to the Irish Times, the taoiseach admitted it was difficult to “intervene” or “investigate” if there were any “transgressions” of rules prohibiting such activity by the U.S. military.
Added the Times account: "He said that 'false claims' about weapons passing through Shannon were part of a 'continuing narrative from certain quarters, politically within Ireland, which I think will damage Shannon, if that kind of argument continues.'"
There were “established rules in terms of airspace and the utilisation of airspace.
But again, we haven’t any strong evidence that our airspace has been used for any attacks on Iran.”
Martin, the Times reported, has repeatedly said that Ireland believes in international law and supports the principles of the UN charter, but has avoided being drawn on whether the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran are illegal under international law, as many critics have asserted.
Martin is an adept politician. He can duck and weave with the best of them. Ireland is adept too.
As a small country with limited military capacity it has had to swim in a pool full of much bigger fish. This it has been doing, and with reasonable success, since independence.
But the walls are closing in, or rather the seas. Ireland is increasingly seen not as an isolated island on the edge of Europe, but as a strategic landmass close to which an array of cables connecting North America and Europe snake across the ocean floor.
It's no longer about a small Irish navy protecting fish stocks.
Martin and his government have been focused on plans to beef up Irish military capabilities in the next few years.
The shamrock will continue to be an evocative Irish image. But it might end up with a few spikes on those green leaves.
