This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me, -
The simple news that nature told,
With tender magesty.
Her message is committed
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "This is my letter to the world", from My Letter to the world, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1956), "This is my letter to the world", first performed 2000 [ soprano and piano ], from Too Few the Mornings Be. Eleven Songs for Soprano and Piano, no. 4, Carl Fischer Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donald Grantham (b. 1947), "This is my letter to the world", published 1983 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941), "This is my letter to the World", 2004 [ voice and piano ], from Summer. Life. Song. -- 2. Life Songs, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Leisner (b. 1958), "This is my letter to the World", 1986 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from Confiding, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Levy , "This is my letter to the world" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Mennin (1923 - 1983), "This is my letter to the world", published 1979 [ SSA chorus, harp, piano, and percussion ], from Reflections of Emily [sung text not yet checked]
- by Valerie Saalbach (b. 1951), "Love" [ voice and piano ], from Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 40
Dies ist mein Brief an diese Welt,
die niemals noch mir schrieb, -
vom Neuen, das Natur erzählt
mit würdevoller Lieb'.
Die Botschaft hab ich abgesandt,
an Hände außer Sicht:
um Ihrer Lieb, ihr Leut im Land,
schenkt mir ein mild' Gericht!
