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by Katherine Mansfield (1888 - 1923)

To L. H. B. (1894–1915)
Language: English 
Last night for the first time since you were dead
I walked with you, my brother, in a dream.
We were at home again beside the stream
Fringed with tall berry bushes, white and red.
“Don't touch them : they are poisonous,” I said.
But your hand hovered, and I saw a beam
Of strange, bright laughter flying round your head
And as you stooped I saw the berries gleam.
“Don't you remember ? We called them Dead Man's Bread !”
I woke and heard the wind moan and the roar
Of the dark water tumbling on the shore.
Where-where is the path of my dream for my eager feet ?
By the remembered stream my brother stands
Waiting for me with berries in his hands …
“These are my body. Sister, take and eat.”

Text Authorship:

  • by Katherine Mansfield (1888 - 1923), "To L. H. B. (1894–1915)" [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 Christopher Marshall (b. 1956), "To L. H. B. (1894–1915)", published 1994 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from To the Horizon : 10 Settings of New Zealand poems, no. 9, Dunedin, N.Z. : Vaia'ata Print [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-04-17
Line count: 15
Word count: 132

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