Old Ben Thistlewaite is a man left behind by everything that once filled his life. His children have gone, and his old Bettie is present only as a memory—he even misses her scolding voice. Now he sits alone under his jasmine porch, staring vacantly at overgrown trees and a garden running to seed. The drooping thatch and dry flowers mirror his own loss of purpose; he no longer has the heart to mend what is falling apart around him. The speaker looks on with pity, not judgment, and the mood is one of gentle, sad stillness. Ben’s thoughts drift like the swallows in the autumn sky, never settling. By the end, everything seems ready to fade into a deeper silence, as if the garden itself will keep growing dimmer, shadier, and more moss-covered without him.
Old Ben — Summary
Sad is old Ben Thistlewaite, Now his day is done, And all his children Far away are gone.
He sits beneath his jasmined porch, His stick between his knees, His eyes fixed vacant On his moss-grown trees.
Grass springs in the green path, His flowers are lean and dry, His thatch hangs in wisps against The evening sky.
He has no heart to care now, Though the winds will blow Whistling in his casement, And the rain drip thro'.
He thinks of his old Bettie, How she'd shake her head and say, 'You'll live to wish my sharp old tongue Could scold--some day,'
But as in pale high autumn skies The swallows float and play, His restless thoughts pass to and fro, But nowhere stay.
Soft, on the morrow, they are gone; His garden then will be Denser and shadier and greener, Greener the moss-grown tree.