Thomas Hardy - Tumblr Posts

Three picture-drawn people came down from their frames,

And dumbly in lippings they told me their names,

Full well though I knew.

from Family Portraits, by Thomas Hardy

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

“Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?“ -Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles

“We colour and mould according to the wants within us whatever our eyes bring in.” -Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd

Portrait of the author Thomas Hardy (1923) by Reginald Grenville Eves. National Portrait Gallery.

To The Moon

What have you looked at, Moon,

In your time,

Now long past your prime?’

‘O, I have looked at, often looked at

Sweet, sublime,

Sore things, shudderful, night and noon

In my time.’

‘What have you mused on, Moon,

In your day,

So aloof, so far away?’

‘O, I have mused on, often mused on

Growth, decay,

Nations alive, dead, mad, aswoon,

In my day!’

‘Have you much wondered, Moon,

On your rounds,

Self-wrapt, beyond Earth’s bounds?’

‘Yea, I have wondered, often wondered

At the sounds

Reaching me of the human tune

On my rounds.’

‘What do you think of it, Moon,

As you go?

Is Life much, or no?’

‘O, I think of it, often think of it

As a show

God ought surely to shut up soon,

As I go.’