by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889)
Love in a Life
Language: English
Room after room, I hunt the house through We inhabit together. Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt find her, Next time, herself! -- not the trouble behind her Left in the curtain, the couch's perfume! As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath blossomed anew, -- Yon looking-glass gleamed at the wave of her feather. Yet the day wears, And door succeeds door; I try the fresh fortune -- Range the wide house from the wing to the centre. Still the same chance! she goes out as I enter. Spend my whole day in the quest, -- who cares? But 'tis twilight, you see, -- with such suites to explore, Such closets to search, such alcoves to importune!
Authorship:
- by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), appears in Men and Women, first published 1855 [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 Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961), "Love in a Life", 1981, first performed 1981 [ voice and piano ], from Love in a Life, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Love in a Life", published 1972 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 112