---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: October O love, turn from the changing…"
description: "\"“October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old, A-dying 'mid the autumn-scented haze That hanget..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg"
---

#  October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down…

![“October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old, A-dying 'mid the autumn-scented haze That hangeth o'er the hollow in the wold, Where the wind-bitten ancient elms infold Grey church, long barn, orchard, and red-roofed stead, Wrought in dead days…” quote by William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg)

> ““October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old, A-dying 'mid the autumn-scented haze That hangeth o'er the hollow in the wold, Where the wind-bitten ancient elms infold Grey church, long barn, orchard, and red-roofed stead, Wrought in dead days for men a long while dead. Come down, O love; may not our hands still meet, Since still we live today, forgetting June, Forgetting May, deeming October sweet? - - Oh, hearken! hearken! through the afternoon The grey tower sings a strange old tinkling tune! Sweet, sweet, and sad, the toiling year's last breath, To satiate of life, to strive with death. And we too -will it not be soft and kind, That rest from life, from patience, and from pain, That rest from bliss we know not when we find, That rest from love which ne'er the end can gain? - Hark! how the tune swells, that erewhile did wane! Look up, love! -Ah! cling close, and never move! How can I have enough of life and love?””

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The poem reflects on aging, loss, and the yearning for love amid the passage of time.

**In simple terms:** Aging brings loss, but love endures.

Key Takeaway

Embrace love despite life's transience.

Themes

aging loss love time

Mood

reflective poetic melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- elderly care
- grief counseling
- relationship reflection
- creative writing

Key Concepts

mortality nostalgia nature symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you honor past while living now?
- What does love mean in later life?

A Different Perspective

Idealizing the past can hinder present joy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Deeming October](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeming-october-2410341/) [Last breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-breath/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-love/) [Live Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-today/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [October](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/october/) [October Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/october-love-2410339/) [October Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/october-sweet-2410340/) [Rest Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-love-404551/) [Sweet Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet-sweet/)

## Related quotes

> [“You are, of course, allowed to love food and music and champagne and rare sunny afternoons in October. You can love the sight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/you-are-of-course-allowed-to-love-food-and-music-and-champagne-and/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“DECEMBER 1 You have one place of hope, security, and rest. It is found in these words: “God is love.” It is something every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/december-1-you-have-one-place-of-hope-security-and-rest-it-is-found/)

[Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/)

> [“I was a happy young woman and I just happened to write poetry. I wasn’t trying to get anywhere, I was where I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-was-a-happy-young-woman-and-i-just-happened-to-write-poetry-i-wasn/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [No rest without love, no sleep without dreams of love- be mad or chill obsessed with angels or machines, the final wish is love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/no-rest-without-love-no-sleep-without-dreams-of-love-be-mad-or-chill/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [“I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-purohit/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-all-my-past-failure-and-frustration-were-2/)

[Atul Purohit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-purohit/)

> [Why would you ever rest from what you love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-maccoby/why-would-you-ever-rest-from-what-you-love/)

[Michael Maccoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-maccoby/)

> [May the shadow of the Almighty ever rest on all those you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/may-the-shadow-of-the-almighty-ever-rest-on-all-those-you-love/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [You, methinks you think you love me well; For me, I love you somewhat; rest: and Love Should have some rest and pleasure in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/you-methinks-you-think-you-love-me-well-for-me-i-love-you-somewhat/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [“Love isn't rest. Love requires you, from time to time, to rip up your soul and replant it. To dare your lover to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/love-isn-t-rest-love-requires-you-from-time-to-time-to-rip-up-your/)

[Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/)

> [We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-find-rest-in-those-we-love-and-we-provide-a-resting-place-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Let us go hence and rest; she will not love. She shall not hear us if we sing hereof, Nor see love’s ways, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/let-us-go-hence-and-rest-she-will-not-love-she-shall-not-hear-us-if/)

[Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/)

> [“The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction the weight, the weight we carry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-weight-of-the-world-is-love-under-the-burden-of-solitude-under/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [Lay your sleepy head on my chest, before you fall into rest, I love you and you're blessed. I'm blessed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/lay-your-sleepy-head-on-my-chest-before-you-fall-into-rest-i-love-you/)

[Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/)

> [Kiss away my tears and tell me it will be okay, let my heart feel the warmth of ur presence never let go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweetner/kiss-away-my-tears-and-tell-me-it-will-be-okay-let-my-heart-feel-the/)

[Sweetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweetner/)

> [“No rest without love, No sleep without dreams of love - be mad or chill obsessed with angels or machines the final wish is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/no-rest-without-love-no-sleep-without-dreams-of-love-be-mad-or-chill-2/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

## More by William Morris

> [I can't enter into politico-social subjects with any interest, for on the whole, I see that things are in a muddle, and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-can-t-enter-into-politico-social-subjects-with-any-interest-for-on/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [...If our houses, or clothes, our household furniture and utensils are not works of art, they are either wretched makeshifts, or, what is worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/if-our-houses-or-clothes-our-household-furniture-and-utensils-are-not/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [“Do not be deceived by the outside appearance of order in our plutocratic society. It fares with it as it does with the older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/do-not-be-deceived-by-the-outside-appearance-of-order-in-our/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-do-not-want-art-for-a-few-any-more-than-education-for-a-few-or/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [I half wish that I had not been born with a sense of romance and beauty in this accursed age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-half-wish-that-i-had-not-been-born-with-a-sense-of-romance-and/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [In Prison Wearily, drearily, Half the day long, Flap the great banners High over the stone; Strangely and eerily Sounds the wind's song, Bending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/in-prison-wearily-drearily-half-the-day-long-flap-the-great-banners/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [Free men must live simple lives and have simple pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/free-men-must-live-simple-lives-and-have-simple-pleasures/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [“Now let us go, love, down the winding stair, With fingers intertwined...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/now-let-us-go-love-down-the-winding-stair-with-fingers-intertwined/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [Between complete socialism and communism there is no difference whatever in my mind.Communism is in fact the completion of socialism; when that ceases to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/between-complete-socialism-and-communism-there-is-no-difference/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [The wind is not helpless for any man's need, Nor falleth the rain but for thistle and weed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/the-wind-is-not-helpless-for-any-man-s-need-nor-falleth-the-rain-but/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [“Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/have-nothing-in-your-house-you-do-not-know-to-be-useful-or-believe-to/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/simplicity-of-life-even-the-barest-is-not-a-misery-but-the-very/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [I pondered all these things, and how men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-pondered-all-these-things-and-how-men-fight-and-lose-the-battle-and/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [Happy as we are, times may alter; we may be bitten with some impulse towards change, and many things may seem too wonderful for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/happy-as-we-are-times-may-alter-we-may-be-bitten-with-some-impulse/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [I am going your way, so let us go hand in hand. You help me and I'll help you. We shall not be here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-am-going-your-way-so-let-us-go-hand-in-hand-you-help-me-and-i-ll/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

[Explore all 114 William Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

## More Aging quotes

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/)

[Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/)

> [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/)

[W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

> [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/)

[Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/)

> [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/)

[Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/)

> [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/)

[August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/)

> [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/)

[Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/)

> [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/)

[Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/)

> [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/)

[Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/)

[Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old, A-dying 'mid the autumn-scented haze That hangeth o'er the hollow in the wold, Where the wind-bitten ancient elms infold Grey church, long barn, orchard, and red-roofed stead, Wrought in dead days for men a long while dead. Come down, O love; may not our hands still meet, Since still we live today, forgetting June, Forgetting May, deeming October sweet? - - Oh, hearken! hearken! through the afternoon The grey tower sings a strange old tinkling tune! Sweet, sweet, and sad, the toiling year's last breath, To satiate of life, to strive with death. And we too -will it not be soft and kind, That rest from life, from patience, and from pain, That rest from bliss we know not when we find, That rest from love which ne'er the end can gain? - Hark! how the tune swells, that erewhile did wane! Look up, love! -Ah! cling close, and never move! How can I have enough of life and love?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Morris"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-sea-and-gaze-down-these-grey/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Aging"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-sea-and-gaze-down-these-grey/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/william-morris-4229_aging_october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-se_240264.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“October O love, turn from the changing sea and gaze, Down these grey slopes, upon the year grown old…” — William Morris",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "William Morris",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“October O love, turn from the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-sea-and-gaze-down-these-grey/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/october-o-love-turn-from-the-changing-sea-and-gaze-down-these-grey/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
