by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
In the black winter morning
Language: English
In the black winter morning No light will be struck near my eyes While the clock in the stairway is warning For five, when he used to rise. Leave the door unbarred, The clock unwound, Make my lone bed hard - Would 'twere underground! When the summer dawns clearly, And the appletree-tops seem alight, Who will undraw the curtain and cheerly Call out that the morning is bright? When I tarry at market No form will cross Durnover Lea In the gathering darkness, to hark at Grey's Bridge for the pit-pat o' me. When the supper crock's steaming, And the time is the time of his tread, I shall sit by the fire and wait dreaming In a silence as of the dead. Leave the door unbarred, The clock unwound, Make my lone bed hard - Would 'twere underground!
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Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "Bereft", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, first published 1909 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "In the black winter morning", 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-06-18
Line count: 24
Word count: 140