by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
He abjures love
Language: English
At last I put off love, For twice ten years The daysman of my thought, And hope, and doing; Being ashamed thereof, And faint of fears And desolations, wrought In his pursuing. Since first in youthtime those Disquietings That heart-enslavement brings To hale and hoary, Became my housefellows, And, fool and blind, I turned from kith and kind To give him glory. I was as children be Who have no care; I did not shrink or sigh, I did not sicken; But lo, Love beckoned me, And I was bare, And poor, and starved, and dry, And fever-stricken. Too many times ablaze With fatuous fires, Enkindled by his wiles To new embraces, Did I, by wilful ways And baseless ires, Return the anxious smiles Of friendly faces. No more will now rate I The common rare, The midnight drizzle dew, The gray hour golden, The wind a yearning cry, The faulty fair, Things dreamt, of comelier hue Than things beholden!... - I speak as one who plumbs Life's dim profound, One who at length can sound Clear views and certain. But - after love what comes? A scene that lours, A few sad vacant hours, And then, the Curtain.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "He abjures love", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, first published 1909 [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), "He abjures love", op. 16 no. 10, published 1949 [ baritone and piano ], from Before and After Summer, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 48
Word count: 199