[1714] The Old Woman

As a white candle
In a holy place,
So is the beauty
Of an aged face.

As the spent radiance
Of the winter sun,
So is a woman
With her travail done,

Her brood gone from her,
And her thoughts as still
As the waters
Under a ruined mill.

    -- Joseph Campbell

I am entranced by the quiet simplicity of this short poem by Joseph
Campbell, an Irish Poet. The lines move with easy grace tracing the sad
universal tale of a woman and her sacrifice as she moves along life to "the
beauty of an aged face" before reaching the lonely furrowed, faded
existence.

P.G.Murthy

[Links]

We've run one Joseph Campbell poem before [Poem #338]. There's a short
biographical note attached there.

[this poem is archived, accessible and awaiting your comments at]
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1714.html
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