"When you are Old" by William Butler Yeats

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.   

 

Roberts, Edgar V., and Robert Zweig. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Boston: Longman, 2012. Print. William Butler Yeats. When you are Old. Page 863.

 

 

 

PoeticTouch2012. Colin Farrell. William Butler Yeats When You are Old. Online Video Clip. YouTube. 13 Oct 2011