When You are Old

William Butler Yeats, 1891

Every culture has its love poetry, you might think, and maybe you’d be right, but you’d also be surprised to see that sometimes love seems to be the main thing men sing about, and sometimes not. What young men sing about now, with hearts full of joy or sorrow, I’m not sure. You’d have to ask them what they find most dear. I hope they are still encour…