What do you think this short poem means?

Question

We that have done and thought,
That have thought and done,
Must ramble, and thin out
Like milk spilt on a stone.

YEATS

Answer 1

I think it means we have to share our experience with others to make their lives better.

Answer 2

My interpretation:

(personally, I like that he uses WE, to make those of us who philosophize our lives and experiences seem as though we're not alone, and it's not a waste of time, or unproductive).

WE that have done things, or had experiences in our life that were spontanious, or out of our control, and then contemplated what they meant; have been pensive on the matters and have learned from them OR WE that have contemplated our actions before doing them, premeditatedly thought out a plan and exicuted it, and have realised and learned things from them... WE that have taken these experiences and learned from them, should ramble ( I think he uses the word ramble because, to those in the world who don't understand philosophy, or simply take things at face value, instead of looking into the meaning of things, often hear a muddling of useless words when we speak of those experiences, they don't quite understand what we're talking about, so to them it's rambling nonsense) however, WE should ramble and speak of the things we've learned. WE should spread ourselves among the earth so to reach all the ingnorant beings who haven't yet been enlightened to the many meanings and ways of life, we should do so in the manner of which milk seaps and thins as to cover the entire surface of a stone, as to enrich all it can of the hard surface of a stone (as to compare the hard headed, insular, minds of those we are trying to reach and open up to new understandings to the hard surface of a stone).

He uses a lot of metaphors, nicely paralleling the last two lines to the actual act he is trying to convey.

I love Yeats.

peace.

Answer 3

I'm in my seventies and think this poem must have been written for old people like me. We have a lifetime of experiences, memories of events that are now merely history to others. We want to share what we have thought and done, done and thought, but find our audiences ho-humming. In another generation our knowledge of the past will be as accessible as spilled milk. Kind of sad, but now I wish I had asked my grandparents more questions and listened harder.
Darlene M.

Answer 4

The repetition in the first two lines indicates a stalwart life of action. Thought merged with action. Affecting one another.
This cup of life gets as thick as sap. It, the product of introspection in tandem with activity, one and the same -- CALLS forth to be drained from the genius, to pour out, effortlessly as from a glass on those not enlightnened. MUST: it is the nature of such a process, that it spill -- be stretched far and wide. Dissipate, disseminate. More "the cup runneth over" than anything else.

Answer 5

Man, who had established kingdoms and empires and civilizations over the years (done)
And has given his race a lot of bright ideas in philosophy and literature (thought)
Must go away, disappear from the face of this earth by death (rumble &thin out)
And all our actions and thoughts that we had achieved during our lifetime will vanish and disappear uselessly (like milk spillt over a stone)

Answer 6

to me it means

We that have done and thought,- the doers in life
That have thought and done,-the doers who think out what needs to be done
so these 1st 2 lines =every1 in life
Must ramble,-must communicate
and thin out-when a lot of communication takes place people will walk away because it's not in their belief of rightness
Like milk spilt on a stone.-differences and lack of solidness makes it easy to separate

summing it up in a sentence.

what makes every one distant is the lack of solidness to keep us whole.

Answer 7

It sounds kinda confusing. Like a pure genuis would have to know to figure that one out. I think this poem means what it says. We all have though about doing something. Then we do it. OR we have just plain out went along and did it unstead of thinking about it first. But to even it out and ramble on. That milk on the mooth spilt stone smoothes all our troubles of when we think before doing or doing something before thinking out.

Answer 8

for those who gone through life, go through all your learnings and take out the useless, or the moraless things, the milk on stone is a medaphor for sloppyness (the splash of milk) and the roughness of life, (the stone)

Answer 9

for those of us who have experienced life's trials and experiences and have learned lessons must share them with others - our words and teachings will eventually sread like that of the milk poured onto a stone

Answer 10

That we're all totally, helplessly and completely LOST! And like the milk will dry up/evaporate and scatter to the winds.

Answer 11

It's an argument over who's gonna milk the cows....