What's in your mind, my dove, my coney;
Do thoughts grow like feathers, the dead end of life;
Is it making of love or counting of money,
Or a raid on the jewels, the plans of a thief?

Open your eyes, my dearest dallier;
Let hunt with your hands for escaping me;
Go through the motions of exploring the familiar;
Stand on the brink of the warm white day.

Rise with the wind, my great big serpent;
Silence the birds and darken the air;
Change me with terror, alive in a moment;
Strike for the heart and have me there.

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First published in Twentieth Century, November 1933 as one of "Two Poems"

Composition:

Set to music by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "What's in your mind, my dove, my coney?", op. 53 no. 3 (1958), published 1960 [ medium voice and piano ], from Five poems, no. 3

Text Authorship:

• by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-02-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 100