by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
Since of no creature living the last...
Language: English
Since of no creature living the last breath Is twice required, or twice the ultimate pain, Seeing how to quit your arms is very death, 'Tis likely that I shall not die again; And likely 'tis that Time whose gross decree Sends now the dawn to clamour at our door, Thus having done his evil worst to me, Will thrust me by, will harry me no more. When you are corn and roses and at rest I shall endure, a dense and sanguine ghost, To haunt the scene where I was happiest, To bend above the thing I loved the most; And rise, and wring my hands, and steal away As I do now, before the advancing day.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), no title, appears in Fatal Interview, first published 1931 [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 Ellis Bonoff Kohs (b. 1916), "Immortality" [ low voice and piano ], from Fatal Interview [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-10-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 118