by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
Foul is she and ill‑favoured, set askew
Language: English
Foul is she and ill-favoured, set askew: Gaze not upon her till thou dream her fair, Lest she should mesh thee in her wanton hair, Adept in arts grown old yet ever new. Her heart lusts not for love, but thro' and thro' For blood, as spotted panther lusts in lair; No wine is in her cup, but filth is there Unutterable, with plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl Turns giddy the fixed gazer presently: Gaze not upon her, lest thou be as she When, at the far end of her long desire, Her scarlet vest and gold and gem and pearl And she amid her pomp are set on fire.
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Text Authorship:
- by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), no title, appears in The Face of the Deep, first published 1892 [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 Sidney Homer (1864 - 1953), "Babylon the Great", op. 29, published 1914 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-07-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 118