by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
I have no wit, no words, no tears
Language: English
I have no wit, no words, no tears; My heart within me like a stone Is numbed too much for hopes or fears. Look right, look left, I dwell alone; I lift mine eyes, but dimmed with grief No everlasting hills I see; My life is in the falling leaf: O Jesus, quicken me. My life is like a faded leaf, My harvest dwindled to a husk: Truly my life is void and brief And tedious in the barren dusk; My life is like a frozen thing, No bud nor greenness can I see: Yet rise it shall -- the sap of spring; O Jesus, rise in me. My life is like a broken bowl, A broken bowl that cannot hold One drop of water for my soul Or cordial in the searching cold; Cast in the fire the perished thing; Melt and remould it, till it be A royal cup for Him, my King: O Jesus, drink of me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "A better resurrection", appears in Goblin Market and other Poems, first published 1862 [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 Ernest Walker (1870 - 1949), "Water meadow", op. 51, published 1932, from The Lady Margaret Hall Hymn Tunes [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-09-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 159