The Ballad of the Fox Hunter (Introduction)

I've drawn on poetry over the years So that I might provide another voice in lyric writing And another perspective than my own And one of the poets I've been drawn to has been, the Irish poet; W.B. Yeats In the ballot of the fox hunter, Yates imagines and focuses in On the special connection humans can have with another species In this case, a king's hounds, with whom he would have gone hunting in his day One blind hound lies apart On the sun-smitten grass He holds commune with his heart The moments pass and pass The blind hound with a mournful tail He lifts his wintry head The servants bear the body in The hounds wail for the dead A huntsman Rody, blow the horn Make the hills reply The huntsman loosens on the morn A gay and mournful cry As someone who's had pets throughout my life And aspire to be a veterinarian I can certainly attest to this special connection One can have with other creatures And how intuitive they can be