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Public-domain lyrics

To an Orphan Child

Thomas Hardy

“To an Orphan Child” as printed in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1899).

Thomas Hardy: Collected Lyrics Text 46 1899 · historical text
Public domainSong lyricsWessex verse
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from Wessex Poems and Other Verses, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

AH, child, thou art but half thy darling mother's;

Hers couldst thou wholly be,

My light in thee would outglow all in others;

She would relive to me.

But niggard Nature's trick of birth

Bars, lest she overjoy,

Renewal of the loved on earth

Save with alloy.

Verse 2

The Dame has no regard, alas, my maiden,

For love and loss like mine—

No sympathy with mind-sight memory-laden;

Only with fickle eyne.

To her mechanic artistry

My dreams are all unknown,

And why I wish that thou couldst be

But One's alone!

Credits

Written by Thomas Hardy

Words by Thomas Hardy. Historical text published in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1899); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1899), “To an Orphan Child”

The 1899 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) died more than 96 years ago and his works entered the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions in 1999; entries credited to other hands are held unless their author died more than 70 years ago.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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