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by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

He fears his good fortune
Language: English 
There was a glorious time
At an epoch of my prime;
Mornings beryl-bespread,
And evenings golden-red;
Nothing gray:
And in my heart I said,
"However this chanced to be,
It is too full for me,
Too rare, too rapturous, rash,
Its spell must close with a crash
Some day!"

The radiance went on
Anon and yet anon,
And sweetness fell around
Like manna on the ground.
"I've no claim,"
Said I, "to be thus crowned:
I am not worthy this: --
Must it not go amiss? --
Well . . . let the end foreseen
Come duly! -- I am serene."
-- And it came.

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "He fears his good fortune", appears in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, first published 1917 [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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "He fears his good fortune", c1950, unfinished [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-18
Line count: 22
Word count: 101

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