A Man Young And Old:- The Friends Of His Youth

by William Butler Yeats — a poem card from Justes Mots

The speaker recalls how laughter with old friends has ruined his voice, and now watching those friends deteriorate into madness and eccentricity brings both hilarity and pathos. The poem balances dark humor with tenderness toward aging friends, celebrating the fierce loyalty and strange dignity of their breakdown. It is suitable for those processing aging and friendship's evolution.

Laughter not time destroyed my voice
And put that crack in it,
And when the moon's pot-bellied
I get a laughing fit,
For that old Madge comes down the lane,
A stone upon her breast,
And a cloak wrapped about the stone,
And she can get no rest…

Themes: sympathy · grief · friendship · reflection