The sky is laced with fitful red,
The circling mists and shadows flee,
The dawn is rising from the sea,
Like a white lady from her bed.

And jagged brazen arrows fall
Athwart the feathers of the night,
And a long wave of yellow light
Breaks silently on tower and hall,

And spreading wide across the wold
Wakes into flight some fluttering bird,
And all the chestnut tops are stirred,
And all the branches streaked with gold.

Note: first published in Irish Monthly (February 1877)m in "Lotus Leaves" (an untitled portion).

Text Authorship:

• by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Le Réveillon", from Poems as one of the "Impressions", first published 1881 [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 Eduard de Boer (b. 1957), as Alexander Comitas, "Le Réveillon", op. 11 no. 11c (1983) [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from Dawn, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920), "Le Réveillon", A. 34 (1914), published c1970 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Four Impressions, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by David Morris (b. 1964), "Le Réveillon", 2002 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Impressions, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Le réveillon"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 77