by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
Wintertime nighs
Language: English
Wintertime nighs; But my bereavement-pain It cannot bring again: Twice no one dies. Flower-petals flee; But, since it once hath been, No more that severing scene Can harrow me. Birds faint in dread: I shall not lose old strength In the lone frost's black length: Strength long since fled! Leaves freeze to dun; But friends can not turn cold This season as of old For him with none. Tempests may scath; But love can not make smart Again this year his heart Who no heart hath. Black is night's cope; But death will not appal One who, past doubtings all, Waits in unhope.
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Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "De Profundis I", appears in Poems of the Past and Present, first published 1902 [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 James Douglas (b. 1932), "De Profundis I", 1970 [ medium voice, viola, and piano ], from In Tenebris [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicholas Maw (1935 - 2009), "In Tenebris" [ tenor and guitar ], from Six Interiors, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 103