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by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

What would I give
Language: English 
What would I give for a heart of flesh to warm me through,
Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do!
Hard and cold and small, of all hearts the worst of all.

What would I give for words, if only words would come!
But now in its misery my spirit has fallen dumb.
O merry friends, go your own way, I have never a word to say.

What would I give for tears! Not smiles but scalding tears,
To wash the black mark clean, and to thaw the frost of years,
To wash the stain ingrain, and to make me clean again. 

Text Authorship:

  • by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "What would I give" [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 Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "What would I give", 2003 [voice and piano], from A rustling of angels, no. 3. [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-09-11
Line count: 9
Word count: 105

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