I read this passage on the plane this morning and it got me thinking…
When You Are Old
When you are old and gray 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
– William Butler Yeats
Here’s a woman looking back on her life thinking of herself and past loved ones. Did the woman reject love at one point or has it just passed her by? I love the thought of Love fleeing and hiding its face amid a crowd of stars. To me this is either because its a perfect love in an absolute sense or because its gone and now out of reach. I like the former thought but i tend to think its written as the latter. Anyone else with me?
