by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
They say that God lives very high
Language: English
They say that God lives very high; But if you look above the pines You cannot see our God; and why? And if you dig down in the mines, You never see him in the gold, Though from Him all that's glory shines. God is so good, He wears a fold Of heaven and earth across His face, Like secrets kept for love untold. But still I feel that His embrace Slides down by thrills through all things made, Through sight and sound of every place; As if my tender mother laid On my shut lips her kisses' pressure, Half waking me at night, and said, "Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?"
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), "A child's thought of God", appears in Poems, New [2nd] Edition, Volume II, first published 1850 [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 Bryceson Treharne (1879 - 1948), "A child's thought on God", published 1918 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 114