Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD MEN ADMIRING THEMSELVES IN THE WATER by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Poet Analysis

First Line: I HEARD THE OLD, OLD MEN SAY
Last Line: LIKE THE WATERS.'
Subject(s): IMAGINATION; TIME; VISION; FANCY;
I heard the old, old men say,
'Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away.'
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn trees
By the waters.
I heard the old, old men say,
'All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'



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