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.
叶芝曾于1923年获得诺贝尔文学奖,获奖的理由是“用鼓舞人心的诗篇,以高度的艺术形式表达了整个民族的精神风貌(inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form that gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation)”。1934年,他和拉迪亚德·吉卜林共同获得古腾堡诗歌奖。
“I've known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you're more beautiful now than then. Rather than your face as a young woman, I prefer your face as it is now. Ravaged.”
― Marguerite Duras, The Lover