At the edge of All the Ages
   A Knight sate on his steed,
His armour red and thin with rust,
   His soul from sorrow freed;
And he lifted up his visor
   From a face of skin and bone,
And his horse turned head and whinnied
   As the twain stood there alone.

No bird above that steep of time
   Sang of a livelong quest;
No wind breathed,
               Rest:
‘Lone for an end!’ cried Knight to steed,
   Loosed an eager rein--
Charged with his challenge into Space:
   And quiet did quiet remain.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 178.

Text Authorship:

• by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The Song of Finis", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 8. Songs, no. 8, first published 1913 [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 Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "The Song of 'Finis'", 1989, first performed 1995 [ tenor and piano ], from Peacock Pie -- 20 songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 20 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-03-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 90