That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
To express the autumn of the life, metaphorically death, the poet uses different images:
“The twilight” (l.5) : he is referring to a girl that can see him in the autumn of his life.
“The ashes of his youth” (l.10)
“Yellow leaves” (l.2): the poet is comparing himself to the yellow leaves, or none, or few that hang on the branches
In the last two lines there is a tenderness, the love that makes the things be tender. It is a hot love, there is no passion, but it’s tender as a sort of protection, a melancholic but true love.
“death’s second self” (l.8) is the definition of death. Everybody knows that we must die, so we live with the idea that our life will finish.