by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
The True Knowledge
Language: English
Thou knowest all; I seek in vain What lands to till or sow with seed - The land is black with briar and weed, Nor cares for falling tears or rain. Thou knowest all; I sit and wait With blinded eyes and hands that fail, Till the last lifting of the veil And the first opening of the gate. Thou knowest all; I cannot see. I trust I shall not live in vain, I know that we shall meet again In some divine eternity.
Text Authorship:
- by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "The True Knowledge" [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 Miranda Al-Raad (b. 1988), "The True Knowledge", 2010 [ voice and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Biggs (b. 1932), "The True Knowledge", op. 72 (1972) [ voice and piano ], from Two Chorales on Poems of Oscar Wilde [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Easton (1954 - 2004), "The True Knowledge", 1987 [ voice and piano ], from Wilde Thoughts. A Song-Cycle to Poems of Oscar Wilde [sung text not yet checked]
- by Garrett Medlock (b. 1993), "The True Knowledge", 2025, published 2025, copyright © 2025 [ tenor and piano ], from The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, no. 12, Lupine Press [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 83