by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849)
The mighty thoughts of an old world See original
Language: English
The mighty thoughts of an old world Fan, like a dragon's wing unfurled, The surface of my yearnings deep; And solemn shadows then awake, Like a fish-lizard in the lake, Troubling a planet's morning sleep. My waking is a Titan's dream, Where a strange sun, long set, doth beam Through Montezuma's cypress bough: Through the fern wilderness forlorn Glisten the giant harts' great horn, And serpents vast with helmed brow. The measureless from caverns rise With steps of earthquake, thunderous cries, And graze upon the lofty wood; The palmy grove, through which doth gleam Such antediluvian ocean's stream, Haunts shadowy my domestic mood.
Note: also titled in various publications as "Song of Thanatos" and "The Song of Thanatos" among others.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Composition:
- Set to music by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "The mighty thoughts of an old world", op. 58 no. 1 (1962), published 1963 [ high voice and piano ], from Autumn's Legacy, no. 1
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849), "Stanzas", appears in The Poems Posthumous and Collected of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, first published 1851
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-14
Line count: 18
Word count: 103