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by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

Young Love lies sleeping
Language: English 
Young Love lies sleeping
 In May-time of the year,
Among the lilies,
 Lapped in the tender light:
White lambs come grazing,
 White doves come building there;
And round about him
 The May-bushes are white.

Soft moss the pillow
 For oh, a softer cheek;
Broad leaves cast shadow
 Upon the heavy eyes:
There winds and waters
 Grow lulled and scarcely speak;
There twilight lingers
 The longest in the skies.

Young Love lies dreaming;
 But who shall tell the dream?
A perfect sunlight
 On rustling forest tips;
Or perfect moonlight
 Upon a rippling stream;
Or perfect silence,
 Or song of cherished lips.

Burn odours round him
 To fill the drowsy air;
Weave silent dances
 Around him to and fro;
For oh, in waking
 The sights are not so fair,
And song and silence
 Are not like these below.

Young Love lies dreaming
 Till summer days are gone,-
Dreaming and drowsing
 Away to perfect sleep:
He sees the beauty
 Sun hath not looked upon,
And tastes the fountain
 Unutterably deep.

Him perfect music
 Doth hush unto his rest,
And thro' the pauses
 The perfect silence calms:
Oh poor the voices
 Of earth from east to west,
And poor earth's stillness
 Between her stately palms.

Young Love lies drowsing
 Away to poppied death;
Cool shadows deepen
 Across the sleeping face:
So fails the summer
 With warm, delicious breath;
And what hath autumn
 To give us in its place?

Draw close the curtains
 Of branched evergreen;
Change cannot touch them
 With fading fingers sere:
Here the first violets
 Perhaps will bud unseen,
And a dove, may be,
 Return to nestle here.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   A. Somervell 

A. Somervell sets stanzas 1, 3, 8

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View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

  • by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "Dream-Love", appears in A Welcome: Original contributions in poetry and prose, first published 1863 [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 Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Dream love" [ voice and piano ], from Christina Songs, no. 2, stanzas 1-3 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Percy Eastman Fletcher (1879 - 1932), "Dream-Love", published 1921 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Young Love lies sleeping", published 1901, stanzas 1,3,8 [ voice and piano ], from Love in Spring-Time, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-07-12
Line count: 64
Word count: 270

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