by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
The Loneliness One dare not sound
Language: English
The Loneliness One dare not sound -- And would as soon surmise As in its Grave go plumbing To ascertain the size -- The Loneliness whose worst alarm Is lest itself should see -- And perish from before itself For just a scrutiny -- The Horror not to be surveyed -- But skirted in the Dark -- With Consciousness suspended -- And Being under Lock -- I fear me this -- is Loneliness -- The Maker of the soul Its Caverns and its Corridors Illuminate -- or seal --
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Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Bolts of Melody, first published 1945 [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 George Perle (1915 - 2009), "The loneliness one dare not sound" [ voice and piano ], from Thirteen Dickinson Songs, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 77