by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)
Of cool sweet dew and radiance mild
Language: English
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]1 her young brow And, gathering she sings an air: [Fair as the wave is, fair art thou!]2 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.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)First published in Poetry, May 1917
An inscription reads: "O bella bionda!/ Sei come l'onda!"
1 in some editions, "touches"
2 Bliss: "O bella bionda! Sei come l'onda!" (the inscription)
Authorship
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "Simples", appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 7 [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. [text verified 1 time]
- by David Del Tredici (b. 1937), "Simples", 1965 [soprano, mezzo-soprano or counter-tenor, and instrumental ensemble], from Night Conjure-Verse, no. 1. [text verified 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 [text not verified]
- by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "Simples" [voice and piano], from Eight Songs, no. 6. [text not verified]
- by Laughton W. Patrick (b. 1934), "Simples", 1959. [medium voice, violin, and piano] [text not verified]
- by Bernard Rands (b. 1935), "Simples", published 1980, first performed 1981 [soprano and orchestra], from Canti lunatici, no. 2, London : Universal Edition [text verified 1 time]
- by John David White (b. 1931), "Simples" [low voice and piano], from Three Joyce Songs [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Simples", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 79