by Robert Graves (1895 - 1985)
The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward
Language: English
Why do you break upon this old, cool peace, This painted peace of ours, With harsh dress hissing like a flock of geese, With garish flowers? Why do you churn smooth waters rough again, Selfish old skin-and-bone? Leave us to quiet dreaming and slow pain, Leave us alone.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Graves (1895 - 1985), "The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward", appears in Goliath and David, first published 1916 [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 Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, Baron Berners (1883 - 1950), "The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward", 1920, published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three English Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 48