Posted by Laraine on August 26, 1997 at 16:40:33:
In reply to Re: Some Yeats posted by Nan on August 26, 1997 at 16:18:02
]
] ] Following is my all-time favorite Yeats poem. It's the second stanza that gets me every time:
] ] When You Are Old
] ] 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;
] It's so strange that you should mention this poem--it's long been my favorite too. I was sifting through some old books Sunday night and came upon it...and fell in love all over again. So lovely it hurts...
________
So lovely it hurts... Yes. I know.
Why is that, Nan? I suppose your description defines poignant, and the poem is that. But I've never been able to figure out quite what it is about this poem that gets me. In some ways it's even rather vengeful almost--because the narrator is hoping that she remembers him and regrets him--when she is old and gray.
Maybe I like it because it's the definitive poem for everyone who put Beauty and the Beast on the top of their list of best-loved fairy tales. I know I want to be loved for my "pilgrim soul"....
Maybe I like it because it implies there is vengence for those of us who are capable of loving someone else's pilgrim soul even though they are too vain to appreciate it...
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