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by Patrick Henry Pearse (1879 - 1916), as Pádraic Pearse

The Mother
Language: English 
I do not grudge them: Lord I do not grudge
My two strong sons that I have seen go out
To break their strength and die, they and a few,
In bloody protest for a glorious thing,
They shall be spoken of among their people,
The generations shall remember them,
And call them blessed;
But I will speak their names to my own heart
In the long nights;
The little names that were familiar once
Round my dead hearth.
Lord, thou art hard on mothers:
We suffer in their coming and their going;
And though I grudge them not, I weary, weary
Of the long sorrow — And yet I have my joy:
My sons were faithful, and they fought.

Text Authorship:

  • by Patrick Henry Pearse (1879 - 1916), as Pádraic Pearse [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 Frank Ferko (b. 1950), "The Mother" [ soprano and mixed chorus ], from Stabat Mater, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-27
Line count: 16
Word count: 120

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