"When You Are Old" Original text and translation:
Original text:
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.
Translation:
When you are old, gray-headed and sleepy,
taking a nap by the fire, please take down this poem,
read it slowly and recall the softness of your eyes in the past. ,
Recall the heavy shadows of their past;
How many people loved your youthful and joyful time,
Admired your beauty, pretending or sincerely,
Only one person loves your pilgrim soul,
Loves the painful wrinkles on your aging face;
Hang your head, in the red light of the stove Next to it,
told sadly the passing of love,
On the mountain above it walked slowly,
Hidden among a group of stars face.