by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
Be to her, Persephone
Language: English
Be to her, Persephone, All the things I might not be; Take her head upon your knee. She that was so proud and wild, Flippant, arrogant and free, She that had no need of me, Is a little lonely child Lost in Hell, -- Persephone, Take her head upon your knee; Say to her, "My dear, my dear, It is not so dreadful here."
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), "Prayer to Persephone", appears in Second April, in Memorial to D. C., first published 1921 [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 Ben Burtt , "A prayer to Persephone", published 1936. [SSAA chorus and piano] [text not verified]
- by Lucy W. Ricketts , "Prayer to Persephone", published 1945 [voice and piano], from Elegiac Songs [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-04
Line count: 11
Word count: 63