by Fredegond Cecily Shove (1899 - 1949)
The New Ghost
Language: English
And he cast it down, down, on the green grass, Over the young crocuses, where the dew was. He cast the garment of his flesh that was full of death, And like a sword his spirit showed out of the cold sheath. He went a pace or two, he went to meet his Lord And, as I said, his spirit looked like a clean sword, And seeing him the naked trees began shivering And all the birds cried out aloud as it were late spring. And the Lord came on, He came down, annd saw That a soul was waiting there for Him, one without flaw, And they embraced in the churchyard where the robins play, And the daffodils hang down their heads, as they burn away. The Lord held his head fast, and you could see That He kissed the unsheathed ghost that was gone free As a hot sun, on a March day, kisses the cold ground; And the spirit answered, for he knew well that his peace was found. The spirit trembled, and sprang up at the Lord's word, As on a wild April day, springs a small bird, So the ghost's feet lifting him up, he kissed the Lord's cheek, And for the greatness of their love neither of them could speak. But the Lord went then, to show him the way, Over the young crocuses, under the green may That was not quite in flower yet, to a far distant land: And the ghost followed like a naked cloud holding the sun's hand.
Authorship:
- by Fredegond Cecily Shove (1899 - 1949), first published 1919 [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 John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The New Ghost", op. 44 (1944) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The New Ghost", c1922, published 1925, from Four Poems by Fredegond Shove, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website: 2006-12-09
Line count: 24
Word count: 258