by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
The Eden Rose
Language: English
Fair Eve knelt close to the guarded gate in the hush of an Eastern spring, She saw the flash of the Angel's sword, the gleam of the Angel's wing. And because she was so beautiful, and because she could not see How fair were the pure white cyclamens crushed dying at her knee He plucked a Rose from the Eden Tree where the four great rivers met, [A rose still breathing of Paradise, wih never a thorn of regret;]1 And though for many a Cycle past that Rose in the dust hath lain With her who bore it upon her breast when she passed from grief and pain, There was never a daughter of Eve but once, ere the tale of her years be done, Shall know the scent of the Eden Rose but once beneath the sun ! Though the years may bring her joy or pain, fame, sorrow or sacrifice, The hour that brought her the scent of the Rose, she lived it in Paradise.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Foote: "And sheltered her bosom's thorny pain, 'neath its petals dewy wet."
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Foote: "And sheltered her bosom's thorny pain, 'neath its petals dewy wet."
Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "The Eden Rose", appears in From Day to Day with Kipling, first published 1911 [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 Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "The Eden Rose", op. 26 (Eleven songs for voice and piano) no. 4, published 1892 [ voice and piano ], Boston : A.P. Schmidt [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 167