The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water (by William Butler Yeats)

File:William Butler Yeat by George Charles Beresford.jpg
Yeats [by George Charles Beresford, 1911]

The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water
by William Butler Yeats
from In the Seven Woods (1904)

I heard the old, old men say,
"Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away."
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn-trees
By the waters.
I heard the old, old men say,
"All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters."


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To read more Yeats in the Online Library, please click here.

 
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Comments

  • 11/12/2011 10:43 AM chris wrote:
    lol.. this is a sweet and gentle poem... thanks for posting it. How many from this volume are left?

    Though the title made me chuckle when I saw it in my e-mail box... I think modern day men would put a rather different more graphic spin on it than Yeats did..

    Growing old bites really... you feel every bit of 25 inside and the knees and joints feel every bit of 80... sigh...

    When I reincarnate next life I'll have to pick a bit better. :-)
    Reply to this
    1. 11/14/2011 11:48 AM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      Five more poems to go from In the Seven Woods!
      Reply to this
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