This is a poem whose main focus is on the way that past
times and memories impact us in the present, even though these days are "no more." The
poem is a lament for the way in which relentless time has prevented him from being able
to repeat certain experiences that are very dear to him. It is this recognition that he
will not be able to do cetrain things again that have causes the "tears, idle tears" to
flood the eyes of the speaker. Although the specific cause of the speaker's tears is
never disclosed, his feelings are depicted by a comparison with events that evoke a
similar response in others, for example focusing on the memory of the kisses of a loved
one who has now died. Such examples help to establish the depth of the speaker's sadness
and the kind of emotions he is experiencing as he mourns the passing of time, or "the
days that are no more."
It is important to realise, that in
spite of the images of futility that accompany so much of the description in this poem,
there is no sense in which the speaker has missed out on opportunities. Rather, it is
the impossibility of going back to repeat experiences that is being mourned. The poem
thus is a rich meditation on the passing of time and the ironies that accompany such
thoughts.
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