O that the rain would come — the rain in big battalions — Or thunder flush the hedge a more clairvoyant green Or wind walk in and whip us and strip us or booming Harvest moon transmute this muted scene. But all is flat, matt, mute, unlivened, unexpectant, And none but insects dare to sing or pirouette; That Man is a dancer is an anachronism — Who has forgotten his steps or hardly learnt them yet. Yet one or two we have known who had the gusto Of wind or water-spout, and one or two Who carry an emerald lamp behind their faces And— during thunder-storms — the light comes shining through.
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Authorship:
- by Louis MacNeice (1907 - 1963), "Precursors" [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 Alan Rawsthorne (1905 - 1971), "Precursors", c1945 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 112