by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945)
The rat
Language: English
Pain gnaws at my heart like a rat that gnaws at a beam In the dusty dark of a ghost frequented house; And I dream of the days forgotten, of love the dream. The desire of her eyes unappeased, and the peace of her brows. I can hear the old rat gnaw in the dark by night. In the deep overshadowing dust that the years have cast; He gnaws at my heart that is empty of all delight, He stirs the dust where the feet of my dreams had passed.
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945), "The Rat", appears in Amoris Victima, in 2. Amoris Exsul, no. 4, first published 1897 [author's text not yet checked 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 John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "The rat", 1918, published 1919 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 90