Old Memory
Old Memory - meaning Summary
Evening Summons Old Memory
The speaker asks thought to visit a woman at day's end and revive a faded remembrance of earlier power and imagined queens. He admits that youthful strengths were forged over years yet ultimately failed, and cherished words proved empty. The closing lines shift from accusation to guarded compassion: blame can be placed on the wind or on love, but the speaker stops short of harshness toward the misguided young.
Read Complete AnalysesO thought, fly to her when the end of day Awakens an old memory, and say, 'Your strength, that is so lofty and fierce and kind, It might call up a new age, calling to mind The queens that were imagined long ago, Is but half yours: he kneaded in the dough Through the long years of youth, and who would have thought It all, and more than it all, would come to naught, And that dear words meant nothing?' But enough, For when we have blamed the wind we can blame love; Or, if there needs be more, be nothing said That would be harsh for children that have strayed.
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