by Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888)
The River
Language: English
Still glides the stream, slow drops the boat Under the rustling poplars' shade; Silent the swans beside us float -- None speaks, none heeds; ah, turn thy head! Let those arch eyes now softly shine, That mocking mouth grow sweetly bland; Ah, let them rest, those eyes, on mine! On mine let rest that lovely hand! My pent-up tears oppress my brain, My heart is swoln with love unsaid. Ah, let me weep, and tell my pain, And on thy shoulder rest my head! Before I die -- before the soul, Which now is mine, must re-attain Immunity from my control, And wander round the world again; Before this teased o'erlabour'd heart For ever leaves its vain employ, Dead to its deep habitual smart, And dead to hopes of future joy.
Text Authorship:
- by Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888), "The River", appears in Poems, in Faded Leaves, no. 1, first published 1855 [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):
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 129