by (Frederic) Herbert Trench (1865 - 1923)
The Requital
Language: English
What shall I give you, woman dear ? Kiss for your eyes, pearl for your ear, Praise to requite you, Toils to delight you, Or trophies that shall leave your name Canopied by outlasting fame ? Ah no ! much less ! Give me, give me faithfulness ! Kindness I'll give -- with sovran care Harbour you like some temple fair, With care that shields Your way through fields Flower-soft, and makes the wise of ages Only your ministers and mages ... Nay, would you bless ; Give me, O give me faithfulness ! Take this instead -- this throbbing rose, Passion, whose cloudy cups disclose, Core within core, Sea-and-moon-lore, And the breath of lovers, whose exchange Of being and worship still is strange . . . Fair it is, yes . . . But give, O give me faithfulness ! 'Tis true, you came with silvery zone All the world's dayspring in your own ; True that you gave All he could crave ; True, on your bosom warm and pure His children smile in sleep secure ; But no ! Ask less -- He will not give you faithfulness.
Authorship:
- by (Frederic) Herbert Trench (1865 - 1923), "The requital", appears in New Poems, first published 1907 [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 Joseph Holbrooke (1878 - 1958), "The Requital", op. 29 no. 5, published 1910 [ tenor and piano ], from Six Modern Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-31
Line count: 32
Word count: 188