Through gilded trellises Of the heat, Dolores, Inez, Manuccia, Isabel, Lucia, Mock Time that flies. "Lovely bird, will you stay and sing, Flirting your sheened wing,- Peck with your beak, and cling To our balconies?" They flirt their fans, flaunting "O silence enchanting As music!" Then slanting Their eyes, Like gilded or emerald grapes, They make mantillas, capes, Hiding their simian shapes. Sighes Each lady, "Our spadille Is done."...Dance the quadrille from Hell's towers to Seville; Surprise Their siesta," Dolores Said. Through gilded trellises Of the heat, spangles Pelt down through the tangles Of bell flowers; each dangles Her castanets, shutters Fall while the heat mutters, With sounds like a mandoline Or tinkled tambourine... Ladies, Time dies!
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Composition:
- Set to music by William Walton (1902 - 1983), "Through gilded trellises", published 1932 [ soprano and piano ], from Three songs, no. 2
Text Authorship:
- by Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964), "Through gilded trellises", appears in Façade, first published 1922
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this page: Dan Eggleston
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 31
Word count: 117