He wrote about the Easter Rising in Dublin in his poem Easter 1916. He knew those who were killed by firing squad after the failed uprising. At the end of the poem, he mentions all of them who were killed and says, "A horrible beauty is created." This means that the tragedy of the rising was beautiful to watch. Another interpretation of the poem is that it is a lament for those who died during the rising. The airman in this case would be an Irish soldier who flew over Ireland in his plane looking for rebels so they could be shot. He saw all of the people living in poverty and wanted to help them but didn't know how. Then he saw one day how everyone came together to create a rebellion against Britain and joined in its effort. Now that effort has failed and many people have been killed by both sides. In the end, the airman realizes there's nothing he can do to change this reality so he decides to go home. Finally, it could be said that the poem is a prophecy about what will happen if Britain attacks Ireland again. If they do, then more people will die because there will be another rising like in 1916. An Irish Airman Foresees His Death is a famous poem by Seamus Heaney. It was first published in 1966 in London when Heaney was only 25 years old. He was born on April 26th, 1939 in Northern Ireland.