by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The self‑unseeing
Language: English
Here is the ancient floor, Footworn and hollowed and thin, Here was the former door Where the dead feet walked in. She sat here in her chair, Smiling into the fire; He who played stood there, Bowing it higher and higher. Childlike, I danced in a dream; Blessings emblazoned that day; Everything glowed with a gleam; Yet we were looking away!
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The self-unseeing", appears in Poems of the Past and Present, first published 1902 [author's text not yet checked 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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The self-unseeing", op. 16 no. 3, published 1949 [baritone and piano], from Before and After Summer, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
- by Douglas MacDonald Stewart (1892 - ?), "The self-unseeing", published 1921. [voice, piano, and violin or violoncello obbligato] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 61