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