by Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917)
Today I think
Language: English
Today I think only [with]1 scents, -- scents dead leaves yield, [And]2 bracken, [and]2 wild [carrot's]3 seed, And the square mustard field; [Odours that rise]4 When the spade wounds the [root]5 of tree, Rose, currant, raspberry, [or]2 goutweed, Rhubarb [or]2 celery; The smoke's smell, too, [Flowing from where a]6 bonfire burns [The dead, the waste]7, the dangerous, And all to sweetness turns. It is enough To smell, to crumble the dark earth, While the Robin sings over again Sad songs of [Autumn]8 mirth.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Gurney: "of"
2 omitted by Gurney.
3 Gurney: "carrot"
4 Gurney: "Scents that arise"
5 Gurney: "roots"
6 Gurney: "Blowing from where the"
7 Gurney: "The waste, the dead"
8 Gurney: "winter"
Authorship:
- by Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917), "Digging I" [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 Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Scents", 1920, published 1926 [ voice and piano ], from Lights Out, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: David Kenneth Smith
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 82