Kate, for me, the stars work, but that's because stars have a special symbolism to me (that which can be seen but which is unattainable) -- I have alluded to them in about 10% of my poems, and finally had to resolve not to do that any more.
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Yeats may be saying more here than that love fled to an untouchable distance. He is introducing two concepts -- one, that love was lost due to fear and worry ("paced upon the mountains"), and two, that love was lost because it was over-idealized (it became one of the stars). That's what I'm hearing, anyway.
You say that this poem has a double meaning, so I'm wondering what you think of the double meaning I put in my poem "Goodbye" on the other board (you haven't commented on that, have you?).
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