when you are old
When morning cradles you in gentle glow,
And kettle’s whisper stirs your sleepy mind,
Recall how laughter helped our spirits grow,
And spread warm light in every heart you find.
Many cherish the brightness of your smile,
And treasure stories from your steady hand.
But one will hold kindness through every mile,
Know quiet strength through all time’s shifting sand.
Pull out that album, turn it, leaf by leaf,
And count each tender moment captured there--
How every image bear both joy and grief,
And shows us deeply of your love and care.
And when twilight shifts softly on your day,
And quiet wraps the rooms you’ve warmed so well,
Feel our friendship echo where shadows play,
A gentle song no passing hour could quell.
.
.
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Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: April 17th, 2026 05:35
- Comment from author about the poem: ...a modernised rendition based on Yeats' classic. Of course, there being no competition or untoward intentions. 🕊️🙏🏻
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 18
- Users favorite of this poem: Tristan Robert Lange, Mutley Ravishes
- In collections: reworked dead poets.
Offline)
Comments8
Very nicely done Cryptic it reads smoothly and kindly. Well done
Thanks Soren, most appreciated dear friend 🙏🏻🕊️
Most welcome Cryptic
good write my friend
A lovely poem about ageing. Well done!
Thanks so much Katie B🙏🏻🕊️
Nicely done. I must be really old, cause it's hard to read. Your typing was so small.😊
It’s to keep the lines within the margin. A thousand pardons🙏🏻🕊️
Good write A.
Thanks O🙏🏻🕊️
My dearest friend, there’s a quiet warmth here…a gentle reimagining that honors its roots while still feeling like your own voice. Knowing it’s shaped in response to Yeats adds another layer…like a conversation carried forward rather than repeated. It stays grounded in memory and presence, and that’s what gives it its strength. Beautifully done, Rik. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
Keep the conversation going! That’s the tack with engaging our ‘dead poets’ 🙏🏻🕊️
Given the topic, just wot is the idea of making the text so small I needed to utilise CTRL and mouse wheel to read it... Turning that wheel fair exhausted me. Can tell you haven't quite reached this state yet... No consideration, the younger generation and so on...
Smooth poetry I could feel.
My screen is permanently zoomed in on top of my reading lenses 🥸👀. Sorry about that, it was to keep all the words on the digital page. It was bugging me that it won’t justify, lol.
'When you are Old' is one of my favourite Yeats Poems.
A good Version you did.
Not as faithful as I would’ve desired but reflects a further ripple it seems. Thanks muchly, dear Kevin 🤩🙏🏻🕊️
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