by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Edensong
Language: English
I am the nearest nightingale That singeth in Eden after you; And I am singing loud and true, And sweet, --I do not fail. I sit upon a cypress bough, Close to the gate, and I fling my song Over the gate and through the mail Of the warden angels marshall'd strong, -- Over the gate and after you! And the warden angels let it pass, Because the poor brown bird, alas, Sings in the garden, sweet and true. And I build my song of high pure notes, Note over note, height over height, Till I strike the arch of the Infinite, And I bridge abysmal agonies With strong, clear calms of harmonies, -- And something abides, and something floats, In the song which I sing after you. Fare ye well, farewell! The creature-sounds, no longer audible, Expire at Eden's door. Each footstep of your treading Treads out some cadence which ye heard before Farewell! the birds of Eden Ye shall hear nevermore!
Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), appears in Poems, in Drama of Exile, first published 1844 [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 Nancy Laird Chance (b. 1931), "Edensong", published 1973 [soprano, flute, clarinet, violoncello, harp, 3 percussion], New York : Seesaw [text not verified]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-21
Line count: 26
Word count: 161