I know not what to do,
my mind is reft:
is song’s gift best?
is love’s gift loveliest?
I know not what to do,
now sleep has pressed
weight on your eyelids.
Shall I break your rest,
devouring, eager?
is love’s gift best?
nay, song’s the loveliest:
yet were you lost,
what rapture
could
I take from song?
what song were left?
...
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The first two lines appear to translate this fragment by Sappho.
Composition:
- Set to music by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "What rapture could I take from song", 1992, stanzas 1-2 [ voice and piano ], from Three Ancient Memories of Greece, no. 2
Text Authorship:
- by Hilda Doolittle (1886 - 1961), "Fragment XXXVI"
See other settings of this text.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Eric Saroian
This text was added to the website: 2009-07-13
Line count: 81
Word count: 353