by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Death
Language: English
Fast this life of mine is dying, Blind already and calm as death, Snowflakes on my bosom lying Scarcely heaving with my breath. Love comes by and having known me In a dream of fabled lands, Gently stoops, and lays upon me Mystic chrism of Holy hands. He draws his smile across my folded Eyelids as the swallow dips; Breathes as finely as the cold does Through the locking of my lips. So when I look upward, being Warmed and breathed on from above, What sight can I have for seeing Evermore but thy love?
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861) [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 Gary Carpenter , "Death" [mezzo-soprano or contralto and piano], from Love's Eternity - Five Songs of Elizabeth Barrett Browning for Mezzo (or Contralto) & Piano, no. 3, Camden Music [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2013-06-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 95