I Shall Not Die I shall not die because of you O woman though you shame the swan, They were foolish men you killed, Do not think me a foolish man. Why should I leave the world behind For the soft hand, the dreaming eye, The crimson lips, the breasts of snow— Is it for these you’d have me die? Why should I heed the fancy free, The joyous air, the eye of blue, The side like foam, the virgin neck? I shall not die because of you. The devil take the golden hair! That maiden look, that voice so gay, That delicate heel and pillared thigh Only some foolish man would slay. O woman though you shame the swan A wise man taught me all he knew, I know the crooked ways of love, I shall not die because of you. Source: O'Connor, Frank (tr); Kings, Lords, & Commons: An Anthology from the Irish; 1962; London; Macmillan & Co; p.59