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by John Clare (1793 - 1864)

The fir trees taper into twigs and wear
Language: English 
The fir trees taper into twigs and wear
The rich blue green of summer all the year,
Softening the roughest tempest almost calm
And offering shelter ever still and warm
To the small path that towels underneath,
Where loudest winds--almost as summer's breath--
Scarce fan the weed that lingers green below
When others out of doors are lost in frost and snow.
And sweet the music trembles on the ear
As the wind suthers through each tiny spear,
Makeshifts for leaves; and yet, so rich they show,
Winter is almost summer where they grow.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Firwood", appears in John Clare: Poems, first published 1920 [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 Rudolph T. Werther (1896 - 1986), "The firtrees taper", 1945-70 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-12-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 94

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