by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904), as Laurence Hope
Less than the dust
Language: English
Less than the dust, beneath thy Chariot wheel, Less than the rust, that never stained thy Sword, Less than the trust thou hast in me, O Lord, Even less than these! Less than the weed, that grows beside thy door, Less than the speed of hours, spent far from thee, Less than the need thou hast in life of me. Even less am I. Since I, O Lord, am nothing unto thee, See here thy Sword, I make it keen and bright, Love's last reward, Death, comes to me to-night, Farewell, Zahir-u-din.
Confirmed with The Garden of Kama by Laurence Hope, illustrated edition William Heinemann, October 1914, Page 1.
Text Authorship:
- by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904), as Laurence Hope, "Less than the Dust", appears in India's Love Lyrics [later Garden of Kama and Other Love Lyrics from India], first published 1901 [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 Amy Woodforde-Finden (1860 - 1919), "Less than the dust", published 1903, from Four Indian Love Lyrics, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Joanna Lonergan , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2005-04-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 92