What prayer does the poet make to the sages in Byzantium NU W B Yeats writes Sailing to Byzantium to show his feelings about old age He feels young people enjoy life but old people are ignored So he wants to go to Byzantium Byzantium is a spiritual place Here he wants to meet with wise sages He prays to them to help him leave his body and become a pure soul The Poet Asks for Guidance Yeats sees the sages as standing in God s holy fire They are full of light and truth The poet prays to them to help him He says O sages standing in God s holy fire He wants them to teach him the meaning of life He wants to understand things that last forever not just things of the body The Poet Wants to Leave His Body Yeats feels that the body is