by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
I said to Love
Language: English
I said to Love, "It is not now as in old days When men adored thee and thy ways All else above; Named thee the Boy, the Bright, the One Who spread a heaven beneath the sun," I said to Love. I said to him, "We now know more of thee than then; We were but weak in judgment when, With hearts abrim, We clamoured thee that thou would'st please Inflict on us thine agonies," I said to him. I said to Love, "Thou art not young, thou art not fair, No elfin darts, no cherub air, Nor swan, nor dove Are thine; but features pitiless, And iron daggers of distress," I said to Love. "Depart then, Love! Man's race shall perish, threatenest thou, WIthout thy kindling coupling-vow? The age to come the man of now Know nothing of? We fear not such a threat from thee; We are too old in apathy! Mankind shall cease.. - So let it be," I said to Love.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), appears in Poems of the Past and Present, first published 1902 [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), "I said to Love", op. 19b no. 6, published 1958 [low voice and piano], from I said to love, no. 6. [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: 31
Word count: 165