by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The voice of the thorn
Language: English
When the thorn on the down Quivers naked and cold, And the mid-aged and old Pace the path there to town, In these words dry and drear It seems to them sighing: "O winter is trying To sojourners here!" When it stands fully tressed On a hot summer day, And the ewes there astray Find its shade a sweet rest, By the breath of the breeze It inquires of each farer: "Who would not be sharer Of shadow with these?" But by day or by night, And in winter or summer, Should I be the comer Along that lone height, In its voicing to me Only one speech is spoken: "Here once was nigh broken A heart, and by thee."
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The voice of the thorn", 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 Foster , "The voice of the thorn", published 1947 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 120