by Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925)
I dug a grave under an oak‑tree
Language: English
Our translations: SPA
I dug a grave under an oak-tree. With infinite care, I stamped my spade Into the heavy grass. The sod sucked it, And I drew it out with effort, Watching the steel run liquid in the moonlight As it came clear. I stooped, and dug, and never turned, For behind me, On the dried leaves, My own face lay like a white pebble, Waiting.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925), no title, appears in Pictures of the Floating World, in Dreams in War Time, no. 2, first published 1919 [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):
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "I dug a grave under an oak-tree", 2003, first performed 2011 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Dreams in War Time -- 7 songs for Mezzo and Piano, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "Cavé una tumba bajo un roble", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-25
Line count: 12
Word count: 64