by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)

Language: English 
Of the dark past
A child is born;
With joy and grief
My heart is torn. 

Calm in his cradle
The living lies. 
May love and mercy
Unclose his eyes! 

Young life is breathed
On the glass;
The world that was not
Comes to pass. 

A child is sleeping:
An old man gone. 
O, father forsaken,
Fogive your son!
First published in New Republic, November 1932

Composition:

    Set to music by David Del Tredici (1937 - 2023), "Ecce puer", published 1966 [ soprano, chimes, horn and orchestra ], from Syzygy, no. 1, New York : Boosey & Hawkes

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 59