Recently I enjoyed a meal with my friend Jeff, during which he quoted from Tennyson’s beautiful poem, “Tears, Idle Tears”. The poem resonates with me and is reproduced below:
“Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.
Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail,
That brings our friends up from the underworld,
Sad as the last which reddens over one
That sinks with all we love below the verge;
So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.
Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns
The earliest pipe of half-awaken’d birds
To dying ears, when unto dying eyes
The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;
So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.
Dear as remembered kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign’d
On lips that are for others; deep as love,
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;
O Death in Life, the days that are no more.”
K Morris - Poet 
A beautiful poem, deepminded indeed. It empowers to think a bit longer about it. Best wishes for a nice weekend, Kevin! Sorry, i had forgotten listen to the radio interview. Will do it now. xx Michael
Tennyson’s poem is, as you say beautiful, Michael. And many thanks for listening to my interview on the World Poetry Reading Series. You also, enjoy your weekend.
This is such a wonderful poem, Kevin. It brings deep thoughts.
I have the complete works of Longfellow (and Tennis on and Shakespeare). This reminds me that I need to re-read them. A thing I’ve been meaning to do for a while.
Thank you for posting this.
It is indeed a wonderful poem, Vivienne and you are welcome as regards me posting it. Its good to know that you have those works and I’m sure you will derive great pleasure when re-reading them. I do have some sellected poems, including those of A. E. Housman and Ernest Christopher Dowson, but I’m also a fan of anthologies as these are a great way of introducing the reader to previously unknown poets. I have The New Oxford Book of English Verse on my bookshelves among other anthologies.
I particularly like this line: “So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.”