by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
Do you know, almost all people love...
Language: English
Do you know, almost all people love their mothers, but I have never met anybody in my life, I think, who loved his mother as much as I love you. I don’t believe there ever was anybody who did, quite so much, and quite in so many wonderful ways. I was telling somebody yesterday that the reason I am a poet is entirely because you wanted me to be and intended I should be, even from the very first. You brought me up in the tradition of poetry, and everything I did you encouraged. Some parents of children that are “different” have so much to reproach themselves with. But not you, Great Spirit. If I didn’t keep calling you mother, anybody reading this would think I was writing to my sweetheart. And he would be quite right. Well, dear, this is enough for now. I will write again soon.
About the headline (FAQ)
A letter to her mother (June 15, 1921, Paris). Letter No. 82.
Text Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), no title, written 1921 [author's text not yet checked 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 Mother ", 1993, first performed 1995 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Letters from Edna -- 8 songs for Mezzo and Piano, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 149