by Louis Untermeyer (1885 - 1977)
From "The Swimmers"
Language: English
Then the swift plunge into the cool green dark, the windy waters rushing past me, through me; Filled with the sense of some heroic lark, exulting in a vigor clean and roomy. Swiftly I rose to meet the feline sea... Pitting against a cold turbulent strife, The feverish intensity of life... Out of the foam I lurched and rode the wave Swimming hand over hand, over hand, against the wind; I felt the sea's vain pounding, and I grinned knowing I was its master, not its slave.
Text Authorship:
- by Louis Untermeyer (1885 - 1977), from the Yale Review, 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 Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), "From "The Swimmers"", 1921. [ sung text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 87