by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The riddle
Language: English
Stretching eyes west Over the sea, Wind foul or fair, Always stood she Prospect-impressed; Solely out there Did her gaze rest, Never elsewhere Seemed charm to be. Always eyes east Ponders she now - As in devotion - Hills of blank brow Where no waves plough. Never the least Room for emotion Drawn from the ocean Does she allow.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The riddle", appears in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, 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 Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "The riddle", published 1968 [ high voice and piano ], from Shut out that moon, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-18
Line count: 18
Word count: 57