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by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Once, Paumanok
Language: English 
Once, Paumanok,
When [the snows had melted -- when]1 the lilac-scent was in the air,
  and [the]1 Fifth-month grass was growing,
Up this sea-shore, in some briers,
Two [guests]2 from Alabama -- two together,
And their nest, and four light-green eggs, spotted with brown,
And every day the he-bird, to and fro, near at hand,
And every day the she-bird, crouch'd on her nest, silent, with bright eyes,
And every day I, a curious boy, never too close, never disturbing them,
Cautiously peering, absorbing, translating.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   F. Delius 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 omitted by Delius.
2 Delius: "feather'd guests"

Text Authorship:

  • by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Leaves of Grass, in Sea-Drift, no. 2 [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
  • by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Sea-Drift", published 1918 [ baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra ]
    • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail

This text was added to the website: 2004-07-05
Line count: 10
Word count: 86

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