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by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)

I have wanted so often to write you ‑‑...
Language: English 
I have wanted so often to write you -- not that I like writing 
letters -- I loathe it — but just that I have wanted to write 
to you. About what, I don’t know, in particular. -- Perhaps to 
ask the advice of the Sage of the Hill -- perhaps to tell you 
that the young wrens in the house under the peak of the ice-house 
are flying this morning (and what a to-do! And what beautiful singing 
from their father! -- as if to say: some day you will have as 
handsome feathers as I, and a tail that sticks up straight behind 
your rump, and a song as beautiful as mine -- you boys, that is, -- and
even you girls will have fun, engineering long twigs through small 
doorways!) -- this is just to say Hello, darling Artie. --

About the headline (FAQ)

A letter to Arthur Davison Ficke (July 9, 1943, Steepletop – Austerlitz, New York). Letter No. 238.


Text Authorship:

  • by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), no title, written 1943 [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), "To Arthur Davison Ficke", 1993, first performed 1995 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Letters from Edna -- 8 songs for Mezzo and Piano, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-08-22
Line count: 11
Word count: 134

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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