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.
When you are old
When you are old, gray-headed and sleepy,
nap by the fire , please take down this poem,
read it slowly, recalling the softness of your eyes in the past,
recalling the heavy shadow of their past;
How many people love it In your youthful and joyous moments,
Admiring your beauty, falsely or sincerely,
Only one person loves you with the soul of a pilgrim,
loving you as you age The painful wrinkles on his face;
Hold his head, beside the shining red stove,
Sadly and softly tell the disappearance of love,
On the mountain above it walked slowly,
hiding its face among a group of stars.