Old Men Poem by Ogden Nash
Old Men
People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.
Old men are different. People look
At them with eyes that wonder when…
People watch with unshocked eyes;
But the old men know when an old man dies.
this is the trouble with people, no understanding that one day they will get old
This poem is quoted in the film A Late Quartet, read by a child in the New York subway train. It is very poignant and moving in the context of the film.
it’s five lines of infinite dignity. I would go as it is written, granted the wherewithal.
This old man has no surprise When people watch with unshocked eyes.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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1/21/2025 11:31:05 AM # 1.0.0
If, in this time of the covid-19 pandemic, we substitute “the elderly and the immunocompromised” for “old men”, I wonder whether the general social impressions of such vulnerable groups might change for the better. How about prisoners? How about struggling immigrants? Etc.
Way to add banality to brilliance, Tony.