Preposterous Universe

 
When You Are Old

Will Baude reminds us that W.B. Yeats died 65 years ago today.

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Such a lovely poem, and yet so sneaky. Basically Yeats is saying to someone who dumped him for someone else, "Someday you'll understand that I was the only one who truly understood you." Which is a nice way to compliment yourself while seeming to compliment the other. W.B., maybe she just wasn't that into you.

~ posted by Sean Carroll at 11:13 AM ~ link ~ ~ ~