Rediscovering romance

I must have been living under a rock so far, because I found this beautiful poem by William Butler Yeats only yesterday. It touched me in a way very few things have in the last couple of months. It resonated with a certain chord in my heart, and I instantly fell in love with it. Of course, it has to find a place on my blog as well.

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.

– William Butler Yeats

I know I would melt if someone (*ahem ahem*) read this poem aloud to me. I think it is one of the most romantic things ever written. I hope the ‘Love’ doesn’t ‘flee’, though.