When I Am Old, a poem by Miriam del Banco (1932)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Miriam del Banco

Shared on:

2 June 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Old Age

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English poetry, Prayers as poems, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	When I Am Old
	When I am old and bent with years, And marked by life’s great joys and fears, When these soft tresses—ebon now,— Shall lie like snow upon my brow, Will I have heard life’s story told In smiles or tears, when I am old?
	Shall I then look indifferently On all that Time yet hides from me? Or will to-morrow and to-day Still roll like mystic screens away, Revealing shade and sunshine’s gold, And joys and fears, when I am old?
	Will every flower that gems the sod Still seem to smile its praise to God? Will starry nights and woodland streams Glide o’er life’s page like elfin dreams? Or will I care no more to hold These treasures dear, when I am old?
	How will the praise and blame of men Fall on my heart and conscience then? Will I have learned to bear the sneers, That fill my eyes with angry tears? Will words of love such joy unfold, Such music wake, when I am old?
	Who, at that far-off time, will be The friends I’ll love, and who to me Will make life sweet? Will I still trace Some beauty in each wrinkled face? Ah, will my hands the same hands fold In friendship’s clasp, when I am old?
	When I am old? It seems to me That such a time can never be: That my strong eyes shall fail in sight. My quick ear hear no sound aright; So far away—’tis almost bold For me to say “when I am old.”
	Yet should God bless my life with age, May I have written on life’s page A noble thought, a word to bless! May I then view with happiness The past, and may my songs unfold A praise to God that I am old.

The poem “When I Am Old” by Miriam del Banco (1858-1931) was included in her posthumously published anthology, Poetry and Prose (1932), p. 111-112. The poem was likely published during her lifetime, but we do not know where or when. If you know, please leave a comment, or contact us. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“When I Am Old, a poem by Miriam del Banco (1932)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Miriam del Banco

Miriam del Banco (27 June 1858 - 6 November 1931) was a writer, poet, translator, and educator. She was the daughter of Rabbi Max Del Banco (1825-1864), a reform rabbi with a congregation in Evansville, Indiana at the time of his death. Johanna (née Meyer), Miriam's mother, moved to St. Louis and there Miriam began her education in its public schools, displaying remarkable poetic talent. Later she was sent to her uncle at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where she attended the State Normal School. After graduating with honors, she rejoined her mother, who in the mean time had moved to Chicago. There, in 1885, Ms. Del Banco began teaching in the public schools, and from 1889 onward, as the assistant principal at the Von Humboldt School. Later on she served as the principal of the McClellan and Motley schools in Chicago. In 1921, at the age of 63, she earned a PhD from DePaul University. She was a frequent contributor to both the Jewish and general press, having written a large number of poems, both Jewish and secular, and often under the pseudonym, "the Pansy" (after her favorite flower).

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17