by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848)
I see around me tombstones grey
Language: English
I see around me tombstones grey Stretching their shadow far away Beneath the turf my footsteps tread Lie lone and lone the silent dead Beneath the turf beneath the mould Forever dark forever cold And my eyes cannot hold the tears That memory hoards from vanished years For time and death and mortal pain Give wounds that will not heal again Let me remember half the woe I've seen and heard and felt below And heaven itself so pure and blest Could never give my spirit rest Sweet land of light thy children fair Know naught akin to our despair Nor have they felt nor can they tell What tenants haunt each mortal cell What gloomy guests we hold within Torments and madness tears and sin Well may they live in ecstasy Their long eternity of joy At least we would not bring them down With us to weep with us to groan No - Earth would wish no other sphere To taste her cup of sufferings drear She turns from heaven a careless eye And only mourns that we must die Ah mother what shall comfort thee In all this boundless misery? To cheer our eager eyes a while We see thee smile how fondly smile But who reads through that tender glow Thy deep, unutterable woe! Indeed no dazzling land above Can cheat thee of thy children's love We all in life's departing shine Our last dear longings blend with thine And struggle still and strive to trace With clouded gaze thy darling face We would not leave our native home For any world beyond the tomb No rather on thy kindly breast Let us be laid in lasting rest Or waken but to share with thee A mutual immortality
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: in the Fisk work, this is sung by CatherineAuthorship:
- by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848) [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 Terry Fisk , "I see around me tombstones grey", published 2002 [voice, piano], from Wuthering Heights, no. 26. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Terry Fisk
This text was added to the website: 2004-03-22
Line count: 46
Word count: 292