Poem

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

http://www.poetry.com/lovepoems/lovepoem.asp?id=180

This poem has an unwavering tone of wisdom. It's not overly sappy, but the message and passion get across nonetheless. The poet seems to be talking about how many men may have loved the woman [the poem is directed towards] but none of them really truly knew and loved her like he did. The romance may be over, but he wrote the poem to show her that even when she's old and lost all her beauty, he'll still love her. There is a general message about love in here: even though romances may not last forever, the feelings, the memories, and earnest love will.

The poet personifies love in lines 10-12.

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars

By Love, he's referring to himself. A man IN love. But with a relationship that is long past and seemingly no longer possible. He seems to just want the woman to have a memory of him at least by the way he starts the poem and ends it. The beginning is a reminder of their love, and the end when he 'hides among the stars,' in hopes that she will glimpse him every once in a while. Think of him from time to time.

I read too far into things. I'm analytical by nature. Sorry.



METAPHOR

love is like a breath of fresh air because it fills you with comfort but is gone much too soon.

tk out