Simples | Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)

Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER

Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild
The moon a web of silence weaves
In the still garden where a child
Gathers the simple salad leaves.

A moondew stars her hanging hair
And moonlight kisses her young brow
And, gathering she sings an air:
[Fair as the wave is, fair art thou!]¹

Be mine, I pray, a waxen ear
To shield me from her childish croon,
And mine a shielded heart for her
Who gathers simples of the moon.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• A. Bliss

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

First published in Poetry, May 1917. The text is preceded by the following epigraph: "O bella bionda!/ Sei come l'onda!" Note for stanza 2, line 2: word 3 is "touches" in some editions.

¹ Bliss: "O bella bionda! Sei come l'onda!" (the epigraph)

Text Authorship:

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "Simples", appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 7, first published 1917 [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 Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "Simples", c1931, published 1933, first performed 1932 [ voice and piano ], from The Joyce Book, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
by David Del Tredici (1937 - 2023), "Simples", 1965 [ soprano, mezzo-soprano or counter-tenor, and instrumental ensemble ], from Night Conjure-Verse, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Robin Field (b. 1935), "Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild", 1967 [ tenor, oboe, and string quartet ], from The sly reeds whisper [sung text not yet checked]
by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "Simples" [ voice and piano ], from Eight Songs, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Laughton W. Patrick (b. 1934), "Simples", 1959 [ medium voice, violin, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Bernard Rands (b. 1934), "Simples", published 1980, first performed 1981 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Canti lunatici, no. 2, London : Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
by John David White (b. 1931), "Simples" [ low voice and piano ], from Three Joyce Songs [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 80