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 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
当你老了，头发花白，睡意沉沉，
倦坐在炉边，取下这本书来，
慢慢地读着，追梦当年的眼神
那柔美的神采与深幽的晕影．
多少人爱你过你青春的片影，
爱过你的美貌，以虚伪或是真情，
惟独一人爱你那朝圣者的心，
爱你哀戚的脸上岁月的留痕．
在炉栅边，你弯下了腰，
低语着，带者浅浅的伤感，
爱情是怎样逝去，又怎样步上群山，
怎样在繁星之间藏住了脸．
叶芝是爱尔兰杰出的诗人与剧作家，１９２３年诺贝尔文学奖获得主．＜当你老了＞这首诗是叶芝为他终身倾慕的女子茉德．冈而作的．事实上，叶芝的一生都为茉德．冈而写作－－无论明里暗里，她都是他戏剧与诗歌中惟一的主角．只可惜，他不是她心中的男主角．
