by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
The hourglass
Language: English
Do but consider this small dust
Here running in the glass,
By atoms moved;
Could you believe that this
The body was
Of one that loved?
And in his mistress' flame, playing like a fly,
Turned to cinders by her eye?
Yes; and in death, as life, unblessed,
To have't expressed,
Even ashes of lovers find no rest.
Text Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), "The hourglass" [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The hourglass", 2011 [medium voice and guitar], from Three Johnson Ballads, no. 2 [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "The hour-glass" [voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Daniel Rogers Pinkham.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-12-28
Line count: 11
Word count: 58