by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
What do I care?
Language: English
What do I care, in the dreams and the languor of spring, That my songs do not show me at all? For they are a fragrance, and I am a flint and a fire; I am an answer, they are only a call. What do I care — for love will be over so soon — Let my heart have its say, and my mind stand idly by. For my mind is proud, and strong enough to be silent — It is my heart that makes my songs, not I.
Confirmed with Braithwaite, William Stanley, ed. Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1920. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1920; New York: Bartleby.com, 2002. www.bartleby.com/273/32.html.
Text Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "What do I care", appears in Flame and Shadow [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 Scott Gendel (b. 1977), "What do I care?", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from My Songs Do Not Belong To Me, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 90