Dear Death: I got your message That my son is dead. The ink you used To write it Is the blood he bled. You say he died with honor On the battlefield, And that I am honored, too, By this bloody yield. Your letter Signed in blood, With his blood Is sealed.
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Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Official notice", appears in The Panther and the Lash, first published 1967 [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 Elie Siegmeister (1909 - 1991), "Official notice", 1966, published 1978, orchestrated 1967 [ low voice and piano or orchestra ], from The Face of War, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 52