Down By The Sally Gardens

William Butler Yeats

Down by the sally gardens my love and I did meet
She passed the sally gardens with little snow-white feet
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree
But I being young and foolish with her did not agree

In a field by the river my love and I did stand
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears

Down By The Salley Gardens (Irish: Gort na Saileán) is a well-known poem by William Butler Yeats included in his book, The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, published in 1889.