On a rainy road to Kérity, the speaker recalls passing an old couple resting with their sack by the soaked wayside. They stare with “lightless eyes” through the driving rain, then turn toward the rocks and tide. They look like “frozen ghosts”—people who were once children, husband and wife, father and mother—but now seem worn down, ancient, and almost lifeless. The speaker is struck by how chilled and old they appear. Yet the memory is framed by contrast: the speaker and their companion walk with their arms around each other and “did not feel the cold.” The poem creates a damp, eerie mood, but also a private warmth. Youth and affection briefly shelter the couple from the same relentless cold and age that have overtaken the old pair by the roadside.
The Road to Kérity — Summary
Do you remember the two old people we passed on the road to Kérity, Resting their sack on the stones, by the drenched wayside, Looking at us with their lightless eyes through the driving rain, and then out again To the rocks, and the long white line of the tide: Frozen ghosts that were children once, husband and wife, father, and mother, Looking at us with those frozen eyes; have you ever seen anything quite so chilled or so old? But we--with our arms about each other, We did not feel the cold!