by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
They say that God lives very high
Language: English
They say that God lives very high; But if you look above the pines You cannot see our God; and why? And if you dig down in the mines, You never see him in the gold, Though from Him all that's glory shines. God is so good, He wears a fold Of heaven and earth across His face, Like secrets kept for love untold. But still I feel that His embrace Slides down by thrills through all things made, Through sight and sound of every place; As if my tender mother laid On my shut lips her kisses' pressure, Half waking me at night, and said, "Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?"
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), "A child's thought of God", appears in Poems, New [2nd] Edition, Volume II, first published 1850 [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 Bryceson Treharne (1879 - 1948), "A child's thought on God", published 1918 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 114