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)
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