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by Helen Maria Hunt Jackson (1830 - 1886)

Her eyes
Language: English 
That they are brown, no man will dare to say
He knows. And yet I think that no man's look
Ever those depths of light and shade forsook,
Until their gentle pain warned him away.
Of all sweet thing I know but one which may
Be likened to her eyes.
                        When, in deep nook
Of some green field, the water of a brook
Makes lingering, whirling eddy in its way,
Round soft drowned leaves; and in a flash of sun
They turn to gold, until the ripples run
Now brown, now yellow, changing as by some
Swift spell.
             I know not with what body come
The saints. But this I know, my Paradise
Will mean the resurrection of her eyes.

Text Authorship:

  • by Helen Maria Hunt Jackson (1830 - 1886), "Her eyes", appears in Poems, first published 1892 [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 Jeffrey Ryan , "Her eyes", 1997 [soprano and piano], from Found frozen, no. 3. [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-02-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 120

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