by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)
Chamfort
Language: English
There's Chamfort. He's a sample. Locked himself in his library with a gun, Shot off his nose and shot out his right eye. And this Chamfort knew how to write And thousands read his books on how to live, But he himself didn't know How to die by force of his own hand -- see? They found him a red pool on the carpet Cool as an April forenoon, Talking and talking gay maxims and grim epigrams. Well, he wore bandages over his nose and right eye, Drank coffee and chatted many years With men and women who loved him Because he laughed and daily dared Death: "Come and take me."
Text Authorship:
- by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967), "Chamfort", appears in Chicago Poems [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 Kurt Erickson , "Chamfort", 2007, first performed 2008 [ soprano and orchestra or piano ], from Chicago Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2020-07-27
Line count: 15
Word count: 110