by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
'Tis five years since, "An end," said I
Language: English
'Tis five years since, "An end," said I, "I'll march no further, time to die. All's lost; no worse has heaven to give." Worse it has given, and yet I live. I shall not die today, no fear: I shall live yet for many a year, And see worse ills and worse again, And die of age and not of pain. When God would rear from earth aloof The blue height of the hollow roof, He sought him pillars sure and strong, And ere he found them sought them long. The stark steel splintered from the thrust, The basalt mountain sprang to dust, The blazing pier of diamond flawed In shards of rainbows all abroad. What found he that the [heavens]1 stand fast? What pillar proven firm at last Bears up so light that world-seen span? The heart of man, the heart of man.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Williamson: "heav'ns"
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in Additional Poems, no. 15, first published 1939 [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 John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "'Tis five years since, "An end," said I", published 2004 [baritone and piano], from Three More Housman Songs, no. 1, Da Capo Music Ltd [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2011-03-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 145