D.H. LAWRENCE 1885-1930

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BEAUTIFUL OLD AGE

It ought to be lovely to be old

to be full of the peace that comes of experience

and wrinkled ripe fulfilment.

The wrinkled smile of completeness that follows a life

lived undaunted and unsoured with accepted lies

they would ripen like apples, and be scented like pippins

in their old age.

Soothing, old people should be, like apples

when one is tired of love.

Fragrant like yellowing leaves, and dim with the soft

stillness and satisfaction of autumn.

And a girl should say:

It must be wonderful to live and grow old.

Look at my mother, how rich and still she is! -

And a young man should think: By Jove

my father has faced all weathers,

but it's been a life!

This English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter endured persecution and censorship during the second half of his life. Opinions have changed dramatically since that time and many would agree with E.M. Forster who described him as "the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation."

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