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.

当你老了

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝

当你年老，头白，睡意昏沉，

在炉火旁打盹，请取下此书，

慢慢阅读，梦起你昔日的眼神，

那柔美神采与身影的深深浓荫；

多少人爱你青春欢畅的时辰，

爱你的美丽，假意或真心，

只有一个人爱你那朝圣者的灵魂，

爱你那变化中的容颜里的哀伤；

在炉火边弯下身，略带感伤地低语，

爱如何逃逸，走上头顶的山峦，

将脸庞藏于群星之中。

这首诗不仅展现了叶芝对爱情的深刻理解，也体现了他对人生无常和时光流逝的哲学思考。通过这首诗，我们看到了一个诗人对爱人不渝的深情，以及他在岁月长河中坚守的情感信仰。