With rue my heart is laden For golden friends I had, For many a rose-lipt maiden And many a lightfoot lad. By brooks too broad for leaping The lightfoot boys are laid; The rose-lipt girls are sleeping In fields where roses fade.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker mourns friends lost to time and death, describing their youth as fading like roses in fields.
- In plain terms
- I miss my young friends who are now gone or dead.
- What can you take from it?
- Time takes away our youth and friends, leaving only memory behind.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who do you miss most?
- How do you honor those lost?
Another view
The imagery softens death but might not help those in active grief.
More from A. E. Housman
There, by the starlit fences, The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
Permalink to quote #28 Now hollow fires burn out to black, And lights are guttering low: Square your shoulders, lift your pack, And leave your friends and go. Oh never fear, man, nou…
Permalink to quote #30 Far in a western brookland That bred me long ago The poplars stand and tremble By pools I used to know.
Permalink to quote #27
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