by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
It was what you bore with you, Woman
Language: English
It was what you bore with you, Woman, Not inly were, That throned you from all else human, However fair! It was that strange freshness you carried Into a soul Whereon no thought of yours tarried Two moments at all. And out from his spirit flew death, And bale, and ban, Like the corn-chaff under the breath of the winnowing-fan.
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Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "Without, not within her", appears in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, first published 1922 [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 John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "It was what you bore with you, Woman", 1926, published 1927 [ baritone and piano ], from Five Poems by Thomas Hardy, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 60