On a poet's lips I slept | On a poet's lips I slept

On a poet's lips I slept

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE

On a poet's lips I slept
Dreaming like a love-adept
In the sound his breathing kept;
Nor seeks nor finds he mortal blisses,
But feeds on the aëreal kisses
Of shapes that haunt thought's wildernesses.
He will watch from dawn to gloom
The lake-reflected sun illume
The yellow bees in the ivy-bloom,
Nor heed nor see, what things they be;
But from these create he can
Forms more real than living man,
Nurslings of immortality!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), appears in Prometheus Unbound [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 Creighton Allen (1900 - 1969), "The poet's world", published 1928 [ medium voice or high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (1874 - 1946), "On a poet's lips I slept", published 1929 [ SSA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "On a poet's lips I slept", 1919 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "On a poet's lips I slept", op. 60 no. 1, from Nocturne for tenor solo, seven obligato instruments and string orchestra, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "On a poet's lips I slept ", 1972/3, from Songs for Enchantment, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger)

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 75