by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
When they come back ‑‑ if Blossoms do
Language: English
When they come back -- if Blossoms do -- I always feel a doubt If Blossoms can be born again When once the Art is out -- When they begin, if Robins [may]1, I always had a fear I did not tell, it was their last Experiment Last Year, When it is May, if May return, [Had]2 nobody a pang Lest [in]3 a Face so beautiful [He]4 might not look again? If I am there -- One does not know What Party -- One may be Tomorrow, but if I am there I take back all I say --
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Copland: "do"
2 Coulthard: "Hath", Copland: "Has"
3 Coulthard, Copland: "on"
4 Copland: "We"
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson [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 Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "When they come back", 1949-50, published 1951 [ voice, piano ], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "When they come back -- if Blossoms do" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Quan elles retornin", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Quand elles reviennent, si les fleurs reviennent", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 93