by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)
The hawthorn hath a deathly smell
Language: English
The flowers of the field Have a sweet smell; Meadowsweet, tansy, thyme, And faint-heart pimpernel; But sweeter even than these, The silver of the may Wreathed is with incense for The Judgment Day. An apple, a child, dust, When falls the evening rain, Wild briar's spicèd leaves, Breathe memories again; With further memory fraught, The silver of the may Wreathed is with incense for The Judgment Day. Eyes of all loveliness -- Shadow of strange delight, Even as a flower fades Must thou from sight; But oh, o'er thy grave's mound, Till come the Judgment Day, Wreathed shall with incense be Thy sharp-thorned may.
Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The hawthorn hath a deathly smell", appears in The Listeners and Other Poems, first published 1912 [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 Gaynor D. Garrett , "The hawthorn hath a deathly smell", 1954 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Three Poems of Walter de la Mare [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 24
Word count: 103