When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats (read by Ben W Smith)

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This is my reading of the heartbreakingly poignant poem ‘When You Are Old’ by W. B. Yeats. Stay tuned for more great poetic content!
#Yeats #WhenYouAreOld #BenReadsPoetry
Words:
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.
--------
Hi, I'm Ben. I love selecting beautiful poems and bringing them alive with my voice, the music I love, and my own photography! If you're a poetry lover, why not subscribe to my channel - or you can find me here:
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POETRY PLAYLISTS:
Smile - • Smile :)
Reflection - • Reflection
Earth and Nature - • Earth And Nature
Living My Best Life - • Living My Best Life
Heartbreak - • Heartbreak
Love and Romance - • Love and Romance

Пікірлер: 49

  • @armandotaborda3688
    @armandotaborda36882 жыл бұрын

    I'm 80 years old! I take this poem as my life's will. Yeats' symbolism is one of the 20th-century master's voices. Nobody can forget his heritage. The voice of Ben Smith is solemn, deep, and sweet enough to move us.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Such lovely words to read - thank you very much Armando!

  • @coralmapley5163
    @coralmapley516324 күн бұрын

    How l enjoy edd your reading of this lovely , sad poem by Yeats. I look forward to.more of your readings which l hope to find. Thankyou.

  • @coralmapley5163

    @coralmapley5163

    24 күн бұрын

    Thankyou Ben Smith, where may l find other readings of yours? I so enjoyed this lovely ,wistful poem by Yeats, and your reading of it and l long for more please.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    19 күн бұрын

    Thank you so much Coral, that’s very kind of you. All my videos are uploaded to my KZread channel and most of them are also on my TikTok channel of the same name.

  • @janerogers6434
    @janerogers643410 ай бұрын

    Beautifully read, oh! how I love this poem.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    10 ай бұрын

    Thank you Jane! Me too ❤️

  • @nuteipachuau6914
    @nuteipachuau69142 жыл бұрын

    I do love your voice 🤧

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much!

  • @swinderby
    @swinderby Жыл бұрын

    This reading is so much better than all those young Irish actors reading the poem.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the very nice compliment!

  • @lianjiayang196
    @lianjiayang1962 жыл бұрын

    this is my favorite poem,for some reason I am still looking forward to meet this man who might love the pilgrim soul of me. And love the sorrow of my changing face.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    I get your sentiment Lian :) The words are such a powerful expression of love, mixed with other things.

  • @lianjiayang196

    @lianjiayang196

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@benreadspoetry7958 I never had a chance to discuss poetry with anyone, because these days people are busy and broken,they are not interested in it at all.....

  • @allanfamily7221
    @allanfamily72213 жыл бұрын

    Wonderful, a beautiful reading of a sadly magical poem

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much; glad you liked it.

  • @mypoetryreadings-withdecla7939
    @mypoetryreadings-withdecla79393 жыл бұрын

    HI there - very much enjoyed your reading of the classic Yeats poem . Fantastic.. Declan

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Declan! Glad you enjoyed it.

  • @lianjiayang196
    @lianjiayang1962 жыл бұрын

    this poem is my favorite poem,and it made Yeats my favorite poet.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    It’s not my absolute favourite but it’s up there for sure.

  • @lianjiayang196

    @lianjiayang196

    Жыл бұрын

    Hi,Ben I check this poem from time to time in your channel.And recently I discovered a KZread channel about poem called My Croft. It tells a lot of historical contest about like Yeats and other poets life.absolutely fascinating.Now I get better understanding about this poem🤔

  • @R.M7bj9s
    @R.M7bj9s7 ай бұрын

    Beautiful.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    7 ай бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @R.M7bj9s

    @R.M7bj9s

    7 ай бұрын

    @@benreadspoetry7958 ❤️

  • @Kpink744
    @Kpink7442 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful thank you .🕊🌸

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Karrie!

  • @angeladallimore8079
    @angeladallimore80792 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful ❤❤

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Angela ❤️

  • @angeladallimore8079

    @angeladallimore8079

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@benreadspoetry7958 Thankyou Ben ❤

  • @lhenalbania8647
    @lhenalbania86472 жыл бұрын

    can you do more and longer time please your voice this clear so nice to listen.

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hi Lhen, I’ve read longer poems too - take a look around my channel and you will find them :)

  • @binasingh9481
    @binasingh94812 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much Bina!

  • @ei80f
    @ei80f2 жыл бұрын

    Wow

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @anneherman6745
    @anneherman67452 жыл бұрын

    💚🌲

  • @Yiran
    @Yiran3 жыл бұрын

    ah finally

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hope you liked it!

  • @user-rh9hw8sw1w
    @user-rh9hw8sw1w2 жыл бұрын

    ماهي الصوره الشعريه القصيده

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hi - the image was taken by me in Hackney Marshes, East London.

  • @letstry4511
    @letstry45112 жыл бұрын

    منو من مدرسة الرباب

  • @philoza1000
    @philoza10009 ай бұрын

    So very poignant

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    9 ай бұрын

    Absolutely 💔

  • @user-el6bx6bz1d
    @user-el6bx6bz1d2 жыл бұрын

    مدرسه الاندلس هل هنا احد😂😂😂 لو بس انا

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Did one of your school teachers direct you to this reading?

  • @alaa_2l

    @alaa_2l

    2 жыл бұрын

    😂اي اني

  • @happysmile9785
    @happysmile97852 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful

  • @benreadspoetry7958

    @benreadspoetry7958

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!