Translation by Shōtarō Kimura (b. 1912) and by Charlotte M. A. Peake
A Death Reverie
Language: English after the Japanese (日本語)
'Tis very white, a frosty white and cold, This Skull that in the winter moonlight gleams! Success and failure, Hope and fear, and Dreams Are Nothing when our Tale of Life is Told. Soon for dear Honour's sake my stainless Sword Shall give this worthless body up to Death; Yet when my bosom is bereft of breath My Red Heart's faithfulness shall guard my Lord.
Confirmed with Sword and Blossom Poems. From the Japanese. Done into English Verse by Shotaro Kimura and Charlotte M. A. Peake. Illustrated by Japanese Artists, Tokyo, T. Hasegawa, Publisher.
Text Authorship:
- by Shōtarō Kimura (b. 1912), "A Death Reverie", appears in Sword and Blossom Poems. From the Japanese, in Sword Songs [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- by Charlotte M. A. Peake , "A Death Reverie", appears in Sword and Blossom Poems. From the Japanese, in Sword Songs [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Japanese (日本語) by Nakamura Katsutomo [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "A Death Reverie", 1915 [ voice and piano ], from Sword and Blossom Poems I: Sword Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-04-21
Line count: 8
Word count: 65