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by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)

Mortality
Language: English 
Ashes to ashes, dust unto dust,
What of his loving, what of his lust?
What of his passion, what of his pain?
What of his poverty, what of his pride?
Earth, the great mother, has called him again:
Deeply he sleeps, the world's verdict defied.
Shall he be tried again? Shall he go free?
Who shall the court convene? Where shall it be?
No answer on the land, none from the sea.
Only we know as he did, we must:
You with your theories, you with your trust, --
Ashes to ashes, dust unto dust!

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), appears in Lyrics of the Hearthside, first published 1899 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Mortality", 2009 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-11-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 94

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