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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

My friend must be a Bird—
Language: English 
My friend must be a Bird—
Because it flies!
Mortal, my friend must be,
Because it dies!
Barbs has it, like a Bee!
Ah, curious friend!
Thou puzzlest me!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), "92" [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 Lori F. Ardovino (b. 1960), "My Friend Must Be a Bird", copyright © 2010 [ soprano, clarinet, violin and piano ], from The Red Wheelbarrow, no. 2, Potenza Music Publishing
        Score: Potenza Music Publishing [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-11-06
Line count: 7
Word count: 29

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