by (Harold) Hart Crane (1899 - 1932)
A Name for All
Language: English
Moonmoth and grasshopper that flee our page And still wing on, untarnished of the name We pinion to your bodies to assuage Our envy of your freedom—we must maim Because we are usurpers, and chagrined— And take the wing and scar it in the hand. Names we have, even, to clap on the wind; But we must die, as you, to understand. I dreamed that all men dropped their names, and sang As only they can praise, who build their days With fin and hoof, with wing and sweetened fang Struck free and holy in one Name always.
Authorship:
- by (Harold) Hart Crane (1899 - 1932) [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 Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "A Name for All", copyright © 2010 [tenor and piano], from 4 Songs to Poems by Hart Crane, no. 4, confirmed with an online score [ sung text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 98