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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

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