O Star (the fairest one in sight), We grant your loftiness the right To some obscurity of cloud- It will not do to say of night, Since dark is what brings out your light. Some mystery becomes the proud. But to the wholly taciturn In your reserve is not allowed. Say something to us we can learn By heart and when alone repeat. Say something! And it says, 'I burn.' But say with what degree of heat. Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade. Use Language we can comprehend. Tell us what elements you blend. It gives us strangely little aid, But does tell something in the end And steadfast as Keats' Eremite, Not even stooping from its sphere, It asks a little of us here. It asks of us a certain height, So when at times the mob is swayed To carry praise or blame too far, We may choose something like a star To stay our minds on and be staid.
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Authorship:
- by Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), "Choose Something Like a Star", appears in Come In, first published 1943 [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 Randall Thompson (1899 - 1984), "Choose Something Like a Star", published 1959 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Frostiana [sung text not yet checked]
- by Randall Thompson (1899 - 1984), "Choose Something Like a Star", published 1971 [ SSAA chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-09-25
Line count: 25
Word count: 160