Two Poems

Song Cycle by Bill Hopkins (b. 1943)

1. She weeps over Rahoon [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

Rain on Rahoon falls softly, softly falling,
Where my dark lover lies.
Sad is his voice that calls me, sadly calling,
At grey moonrise.

Love, hear thou
How soft, how sad his voice is ever calling,
Ever unanswered and the dark rain falling,
Then as now.

Dark too our hearts, O love, shall lie and cold
As his sad heart has lain
Under the moongrey nettles, the black mould
And muttering rain.

Text Authorship:

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "She weeps over Rahoon", written 1913, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 4

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Elle pleure sur Rahoon", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Sie weint über Rahoon", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

First published in Poetry, November 1917

Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

2. On the beach at Fontana [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

Wind whines and whines the shingle,
The crazy pierstakes groan;
A senile sea numbers each single
Slimesilvered stone.

From whining wind and colder
Grey sea I wrap him warm
And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder
And boyish arm.

Around us fear, descending
Darkness of fear above
And in my heart how deep unending
Ache of love!

Text Authorship:

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

First published in Poetry, November 1917.

Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

Total word count: 128