Unchanged within, to see all changed without,
Is a blank lot and hard to bear, no doubt.
Yet why at others' Wanings should'st thou fret?
Then only might'st thou feel a just regret,
Hadst thou withheld thy love or hid thy light
In selfish forethought of neglect and slight.
O wiselier then, from feeble yearnings freed,
While, and on whom, thou may'st--shine on! nor heed
Whether the object by reflected light
Return thy radiance or absorb it quite:
And tho' thou notest from thy safe recess
Old Friends burn dim, like lamps in noisome air,
Love them for what they are; nor love them less,
Because to thee they are not what they were.
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Comments
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It is true that people change and this poem is telling us to love no matter what the changes are, our families will always go through changes as do our friends, but those that are true friends will be the ones that love us no matter what, I think that is what was being conveyed here, to be a best friend, not just a good one........................................
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Both of the above are correct, you need to take this poem one line at a time. People change with time, and you cannot cease to love a friend simply because they seem less to you now then they once did. It's your perceptions that changed, and to withhold your love, and acceptance, because things do not stay a certain way is certainly very selfish. This poem is very preachy, but I suppose the message is good, though hard to follow. People change, along with your perceptions of them, and it is only human to take it against them. No matter who is lessened by it.
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Simple. That's what this piece tells me it is. Simple. And that's basically all I have. I mean, it's lovely, no-doubt but that's it. It didn't give me anything.
I guess glazecovered is correct, you probably have to take it one line at a time, because wholey, it's just a plain piece.
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I guess this is the kind of poem you take one line at a time in order to get the most out of it.
"Unchanged within, to see all changed without,
Is a blank lot and hard to bear, no doubt."
I guess this talks about seeing the world/their life change and not adapting to that change because you are still the same person you were before the world/your life changed.
"Hadst thou withheld thy love or hid thy light
In selfish forethought of neglect and slight."
This seems a bit preachy as I understand it, but the message is hidden within euphemisms and vagueness. All in all this is an interesting advice-poem that tells you how to live your life.
~Anastasia
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