Yeats: The Coming of Wisdom with Time

[grllopez]

Such a short poem, here it is:

Though leaves are many, the root is one;
Through all the lying days of my youth
I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;
Now I may wither into the truth.

What an interesting way to consider a man's days as many leaves and one root of a tree. The days of a man's one single life -- how he changes over time, as a tree's leaves and branches do, too. (Maybe I am reading too much into that first line.)

The lying days of my youth made me initially think of how the youth are often lied to about life, but it could also mean he is or was content to lie so easily to himself (or others). I also read that lying could represent laziness, as youth are often guilty of.

How carefree is the line about swaying one's leaves and flowers in the sun, also reminiscent of youth. But finally, the last line sums up our lives as we grow old or older, and come into wisdom. For the poet it is a withering, but I think for others it may be a blossoming.