What do you make of this?
Interpretation? Thoughts? Opinions based on artistic merit or subject matter? Don't be afraid; I won't hurt ya.
When You are Old
by W. B. 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.
posted by Bobby @ 10:33 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
This might be kind of random, but it reminds me of this little old couple that I used to take care of. (I’m a nurse… or, almost a nurse) The wife was in that final, horrific stage of Alzheimer's and no matter how violent or psychotic she became, you could tell her husband still saw the woman he fell in love with- even though she had no idea who he was.
Especially this part-
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face
I doubt if he understood how bad things could get when he said 'for better or worse, in sickness and in health', but he meant it and he stood by it.
It's a beautiful poem, but bittersweet and kinda sad. I don't know much about meter or rhyme, but artistically speaking, I think Yeats’s visuals are amazing.
Yeah, he has a great control and mastery of image. And the poem makes perfect sense in context of Alzheimer's. I hadn't thought of that.
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