Literary Quotes-Who Said This?

Who Said This? In What Book Can You Find This Quote?

Give this quote a glance to see if you have heard it before. The full poem is at the end of the post.

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;

“WHEN YOU ARE OLD” – by William Butler 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.

“When You Are Old” is reprinted from The Rose. W.B. Yeats. 1893.

(One of the last poems that W.B. Yeats wrote. Born 13 June 1865 – Died 28 January 1939)

Image of W.B. Yeats public domain by Charles George Beresford via Wikimedia Commons.

William Butler Yeats

Are you familiar with Yeat’s poem? What do you think? 🙂