Horizon to horizon, lies outspread The tenting firmament of day and night; Wherein are winds at play; and planets shed Amid the stars their gentle gliding light. The huge world's sun flames on the snow-capped hills; Cindrous his heat burns in the sandy plain; With myriad spume-bows roaring ocean swills The cold profuse abundance of the rain. And man—a transient object in this vast, Sighs o'er a universe transcending thought, Afflicted by vague bodings of the past, Driven toward a future, unforeseen, unsought. Yet, see him, stooping low to naked weed That meeks its blossom in his anxious eye, Mark how he grieves, as if his heart did bleed, And wheels his wondrous features to the sky; As if, transfigured by so small a grace, He sought Companion in earth's dwelling-place.
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Confirmed with Walter De la Mare, The Veil and other Poems, New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1922, page 14.
Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The flower", appears in The Veil and Other Poems, first published 1921 [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 Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Horizon to horizon", 1968 [ soprano, flute, string orchestra or ensemble ], from Two Visionary Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-23
Line count: 18
Word count: 131