"Whom seek you here, sweet Mistress Fell?" "One who loved me passing well. Dark his eye, wild his face-- Stranger, if in this lonely place Bide such an one, then, prythee, say I am come here to-day." "Many his like, Mistress Fell?" "I did not look, so cannot tell. Only this I surely know, When his voice called me, I must go; Touched me his fingers, and my heart Leapt at the sweet pain's smart." "Why did he leave you, Mistress Fell?" "Magic laid its dreary spell. -- Stranger, he was fast asleep; Into his dream I tried to creep; Called his name, soft was my cry; He answered--not one sigh. "The flower and the thorn are here; Falleth the night-dew, cold and clear; Out of her bower the bird replies, Mocking the dark with ecstasies, See how the earth's green grass doth grow, Praising what sleeps below! "Thus have they told me. And I come, As flies the wounded wild-bird home. Not tears I give; but all that he Clasped in his arms, sweet charity; All that he loved -- to him I bring For a close whispering."
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Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Mistress Fell", appears in The Sunken Garden and Other Poems, first published 1917 [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 Benjamin Burrows (1891 - 1966), "Mistress Fell", 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 30
Word count: 187