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by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

June leaves and autumn
Language: English 
I

Lush summer lit the trees to green;
But in the ditch hard by
Lay dying boughs some hand unseen
Had lopped when first with festal mien
They matched their mates on high.
It seemed a melancholy fate
That leaves but brought to birth so late
Should rust there, red and numb,
In quickened fall, while all their race
Still joyed aloft in pride of place
With store of days to come.

II

At autumn-end I fared that way,
And traced those boughs fore-hewn
Whose leaves, awaiting their decay
In slowly browning shades, still lay
Where they had lain in June
And now, no less embrowned and curst
Than if they had fallen with the first,
Nor known a morning more,
Lay there alongside, dun and sere,
Those that at my last wandering here
Had length of days in store.

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "June leaves and autumn", from Daily Telegraph (June 1928) [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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "June leaves and autumn", c1920, unfinished [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-08-07
Line count: 24
Word count: 140

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