"Be Near Me When My Light Is Low" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (poetry reading)

The paintings are by Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787): Return of the Prodigal Son, Cleopatra and Mark Antony Dying, Death of Meiliaige.

Be near me when my light is low,
When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick
And tingle; and the heart is sick,
And all the wheels of Being slow.

Be near me when the sensuous frame
Is rack'd with pangs that conquer trust;
And Time, a maniac scattering dust,
And Life, a Fury slinging flame.

Be near me when my faith is dry,
And men the flies of latter spring,
That lay their eggs, and sting and sing
And weave their petty cells and die.

Be near me when I fade away,
To point the term of human strife,
And on the low dark verge of life
The twilight of eternal day.

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• Be
• Near
• Me
• When
• My
• Light
• Is
• Low
• Alfred
• Tennyson
• poem
• In Memoriam

[red64419]

Sir, I shall not repeat my usual appreciation of your undeniable talent, cause I consider my admiration for you obvious and implied. But...the choice of Batoni's paintings...touches my heart; it reveals through the pictorial consistence of the figures, the strength and the communicative power of the verses...and underlines the pictorial beauty of your voice.

[shalimarsgirl]

To die alone without a hand to hold would sting as much as death itself.

[dracentsparkle]

Truly lovely

[polymath7]

I'd never seen that youthful portrait of Tennyson. He looks far less disheveled and morose than in the later photographs. Indeed he looks poised, stately and handsome.

[langstonify]

Fine reading and great recording; thanks for this one.

[paulpellicci]

such sobriety

[thissong4you]

Beautiful. I am certain that at some point in their lives together the dying couple in Bukowski's "Hell Is a Lonely Place" had these sentiments for one another. I love it when you talk Tennyson to me, Tom. Wonderful reading.

[mahogonywhisper]

I'd like to hear you /sing/ something!

Wonderfully read)

[luciano9009]

One of my fav poets of all time.