I thought it was lovely. Elegant language, keen observations, almost elegiac in tone. It's sad but evocative. The use of Yeats, appropo.

Lannie makes a valid point about the context of Yeats poem. However, I disagree with her conclusion.

Yeats was a product of the late 19th Century world order. The "Bella Epocha", the beautiful time. World War I killed that world.

His world did literally die. What came after that was Facism, Communism, Nazism, and mass murder. An orgy of death that didn't peter out until the 50's.

Sure, the world order that was forged in the 50's has been a wonderful time of peace and plenty. It was another "Belle Epocha".

It's about to end. It's about to get hot.

The next 30 years aren't going to be fun.