by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
Childhood among the ferns
Language: English
I sat one sprinkling day upon the lea, Where tall-stemmed ferns spread out luxuriantly, And nothing but those tall ferns sheltered me. The rain gained strength, and damped each lopping frond, Ran down their stalks beside me and beyond, And shaped slow-creeping rivulets as I conned, With pride, my spray-roofed house. And though anon Some drops pierced its green rafters, I sat on, Making pretence I was not rained upon. The sun then burst, and brought forth a sweet breath From the limp ferns as they dried underneath; I said: "I could live on here thus till death;" And queried in the green rays as I sate: "Why should I have to grow to man's estate, And this afar-noised World perambulate?"
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), from Daily Telegraph, first published 1928 [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), "Childhood among the ferns", op. 16 no. 1, published 1949 [baritone and piano], from Before and After Summer, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 121