When You Are Old 
                                    

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 grad 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

当你老了，头发花白，睡意昏沉，
炉火旁打盹，请取下这本诗歌，
慢慢诵读，回忆你过去眼神，
那柔和的神采与深幽的晕影。

多少人爱过你青春欢畅的时辰，
爱慕你的美丽，以假意或是真心，
唯独一人爱你那虔诚的灵魂，
爱你衰老的脸上岁月的皱纹。

闪烁的炉栅旁，你轻轻俯下身，
带着浅浅凄然，低语呢喃着，
爱情是怎样逝去，又是怎样步上群山，
怎样在繁星之间隐藏了脸庞。

整理：于姊妹