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by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)

Loving you less than life, a little less
Language: English 
Loving you less than life, a little less
Than bitter-sweet upon a broken wall
Or brush-wood smoke in autumn, I confess
I cannot swear I love you not at all.
For there is that about you in this light --
A yellow darkness, sinister of rain --
Which sturdily recalls my stubborn sight
To dwell on you, and dwell on you again.
And I made aware of many a week
I shall consume, remembering in what way
Your brown hair grows about your brow and cheek,
And what divine absurdities you say:
Till all the world, and I, and surely you,
Will know I love you, whether or not I do.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), "Sonnet XVII", appears in The Harp-Weaver and other poems, in Sonnets from an Ungrafted Tree, first published << 1923 [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 Robert Manno (b. 1944), "Loving you less than life", published 1975 [soprano, piano], from Portrait of Millay, no. 2. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

Researcher for this page: Robert Manno

This text was added to the website: 2005-06-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 109

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