Classic and Contemporary Poetry
I'M GROWING OLD, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE Poet's Biography First Line: My days pass pleasantly away Last Line: "I'm growing old!" Subject(s): Aging | ||||||||
My days pass pleasantly away; My nights are blest with sweetest sleep; I feel no symptoms of decay; I have no cause to mourn nor weep; My foes are impotent and shy, My friends are neither false nor cold, And yet, of late, I often sigh, -- I'm growing old! My growing talk of olden times, My growing thirst for early news, My growing apathy to rhymes, My growing love of easy shoes, My growing hate of crowds and noise, My growing fear of taking cold, All whisper, in the plainest voice, I'm growing old! I'm growing fonder of my staff; I'm growing dimmer in the eyes; I'm growing fainter in my laugh; I'm growing deeper in my sighs; I'm growing careless of my dress; I'm growing frugal of my gold; I'm growing wise; I'm growing, -- yes, -- I'm growing old! I see it in my changing taste; I see it in my changing hair; I see it in my growing waist; I see it in my growing heir; A thousand signs proclaim the truth, As plain as truth was ever told, That, even in my vaunted youth, I'm growing old! Ah me! my very laurels breathe The tale in my reluctant ears, And every boon the Hours bequeath But makes me debtor to the Years! E'en Flattery's honeyed words declare The secret she would fain withhold, And tells me in "How young you are!" I'm growing old! Thanks for the years! -- whose rapid flight My sombre Muse too sadly sings; Thanks for the gleams of golden light That tint the darkness of their wings; The light that beams from out the sky, Those heavenly mansions to unfold Where all are blest, and none may sigh, "I'm growing old!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER THE GENTLE POET KOBAYASHI ISSA by ROBERT HASS MEMORY AS A HEARING AID by TONY HOAGLAND AMOROSA AND COMPANY by CONRAD AIKEN GRAY WEATHER by ROBINSON JEFFERS FROM THE SPANISH by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON DEATH AND CUPID; AN ALLEGORY by JOHN GODFREY SAXE |
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