by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
The Inn of Earth
Language: English
I came to the crowded Inn of Earth, And called for a cup of wine, But the Host went by with averted eye From a thirst as keen as mine. Then I sat down with weariness And asked a bit of bread, But the Host went by with averted eye And never a word he said. While always from the outer night The waiting souls came in With stifled cries of sharp surprise At all the light and din. "Then give me a bed to sleep", I said, "For midnight comes apace" But the Host went by with averted eye And I never saw his face. "Since there is neither food nor rest, I go where I fared before" But the Host went by with averted eye And barred the outer door.
Text Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "The Inn of Earth", appears in Rivers to the Sea, first published 1915 [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 Garth Baxter (b. 1946), "The Inn of Earth" [ voice and guitar ], from From the Heart: Three American Women - Three from Sara, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Garth Baxter
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 132