by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
I admit the briar
Language: English
I admit the briar Entangled in my hair Did not injure me; My blenching and trembling, Nothing but dissembling, Nothing but coquetry. I long for truth, and yet I cannot stay from that My better self disowns, For a man's attention Brings such satisfaction To the craving in my bones. Brightness that I pull back From the Zodiac, Why those questioning eyes That are fixed upon me? What can they do but shun me If empty night replies?
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Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "A first confession", appears in The Winding Stair, in A Woman Young and Old, first published 1929 [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 James Walter Wilson (b. 1922), "I admit the briar", 1966 [soprano and Irish harp], from A Woman Young and Old [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-19
Line count: 18
Word count: 78