Saturday 21 January 2012

A reflection

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 among a crowd of stars.

William Butler Yeats


This is my contribution to the Weekend Reflections community.

13 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

Sweet thanks!

Gemma Wiseman said...

"But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you..."
- such an exquisite line of thought!
A beautiful sense of quiet reflection in your photo!

Valerie said...

Reflections of a different kind, but nevertheless very appropriate! A delightful scene, beautifully framed and touching prose as an accompaniment. Thanks for sharing this beauty Julie. Have a great weekend.

Joan Elizabeth said...

I admire the grace of this avenue of trees despite it not being made up of traditionally graceful trees. The poem is also a beauty - the "pilgrim soul" grabbed me today too.

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

A profound reflection for the weekend, Julie, and one that I am finding now progressively more aware of as my middle age inexorably moves forward to the inevitability of old age...
Lovely photo to illustrate these words...

AL said...

I remember learning this by heart when I was about 10yrs old. I didn't appreciate it's beauty then, but now I can reflect upon the lovely words. Thanks.

Karen said...

Those trees must be a hundred years old. A beautiful post Julie.

Jim said...

Is that Centennial Park?

Julie said...

Yes, Jim. Centennial Park stretching from the Queen St gates down to the kiosk.

Kay L. Davies said...

Gorgeous photo, Julie. And Yeats, too.
Sigh.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Ann Chin · Auckland University
I have a similar photo which I used the Beatles" Will you still love me when I am 64?"

sorry I posted by mistake to your facebook. Does this mean we are friends now?

Joe said...

Such beautiful and meaningful words Julie. A good choice to accompany the image.

Dianne said...

the photo is so perfect for the verse
lovely