by John Clare (1793 - 1864)
On Death
Language: English
O Life, thy name to me's a galling sound, A sound I fain would wish to breathe no more; One only peace for me my hopes have found, When thy existence and wild race is o'er; When Death, with one, heals every other wound, And lays my aching head in the cold ground. O happy hour! I only wish to have Another moment's gasp, and then the grave. I only wish for one departing sigh, A welcome farewel take of all, and die. Thou'st given me little, world, for thanks' return, Thou tempst me little with thee still to 'bide: One only cause in leaving thee I mourn, - That I had e'er been born, nor in the cradle died.
Authorship:
- by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "On Death", appears in The Village Minstrel, and Other Poems, first published 1821 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "On Death", published 1944. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 120