by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936)
Gold leaves
Language: English
Lo! I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold; Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out The year and I are old. In youth I sought the prince of men, Captain in cosmic wars, Our Titan, even the weeds would show Defiant, to the stars. But now a great thing in the street Seems any human nod, Where shift in strange democracy The million masks of God. In youth I sought the golden flower Hidden in wood or wold, But I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold.
Text Authorship:
- by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936), from The Wild Knight & Other Poems, first published 1900 [author's text not yet checked 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Gold leaves", 2008 [high voice or medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 94