by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
The mayfly
Language: English
Poor insect! What a little day Of sunshine bliss is thine! And yet thou spread'st thy light wings gay And bidst them spreading shine. Thou humm'st thy short and busy tune Unmindful of the blast, And careless, while 'tis burning noon, How short that noon has past. And show'r would lay thy beauty low, The dew of twilight be The torrent of thy overthrow, Thy storm of destiny. Then, insect, spread thy shining wing, Hum on thy busy lay; For man, like thee, has but his spring, Like thine it fades away.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 John Wall Callcott (1766 - 1821), "The mayfly", subtitle: "Glee for three voices" [ vocal trio ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-04-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 92