by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848)
I am the only being whose doom
Language: English
I am the only being whose doom No tongue would ask no eye would mourn I never caused a thought of gloom A smile of joy since I was born In secret pleasure - secret tears This changeful life has slipped away As friendless after eighteen years As lone as on my natal day There have been times I cannot hide There have been times when this was drear When my sad soul forgot its pride And longed for one to love me here But those were in the early glow Of feelings since subdued by care And they have died so long ago I hardly now believe they were First melted off the hope of youth Then Fancy's rainbow fast withdrew And then experience told me truth In mortal bosoms never grew 'Twas grief enough to think mankind All hollow servile insincere - But worse to trust to my own mind And find the same corruption there
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848), no title, from The Complete Poems of Emily Brontë, first published 1910 [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 Joan Littlejohn (b. 1937), "I am the only being whose doom", 1967-71 [mezzo-soprano solo, unaccompanied], from The Heights of Haworth [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-06
Line count: 24
Word count: 157