Themes
Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.
— Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Holmes lists what time wears away: youth, romance, even friendships. Only one thing outlasts them, a mother's quiet hope for her child. It's a tender, slightly wistful couplet about which loyalties truly last through the years.
Context reviewed