by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The end of the episode
Language: English
Indulge no more may we In this sweet-bitter pastime: The love-light shines the last time Between you, Dear, and me. There shall remain no trace Of what so closely tied us, And blank as ere love eyed us Will be our meeting-place. The flowers and thymy air, Will they now miss our coming? The dumbles thin their humming To find we haunt not there? Though fervent was our vow, Though ruddily ran our pleasure, Bliss has fulfilled its measure, And sees its sentence now. Ache deep; but make no moans: Smile out; but stilly suffer: The paths of love are rougher Than thoroughfares of stones.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The end of the episode", 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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The end of the episode", c1930, unfinished [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-14
Line count: 20
Word count: 105