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by Countee Cullen (1903 - 1946)

The wise
Language: English 
Dead men are wisest, for they know
How far the roots of flowers go,
How long a seed must rot to grow.

Dead men alone bear frost and rain
On throbless heart and heatless brain,
And feel no stir of joy or pain.

Dead men alone are satiate;
They sleep and dream and have no weight,
To curb their rest, of love or hate.

Strange, men should flee their company,
Or think me strange who long to be
Wrapped in their cool immunity.

Text Authorship:

  • by Countee Cullen (1903 - 1946) [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The wise", 2007 [medium voice and piano], from Five Poems of Countée Cullen, no. 5 [ sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 83

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